Cetra Legacy
by Aquila Hawk
Summary: Twenty years have passed since the fall of Meteor and the world has not begun to heal. Day by day, the planet's life is losing life. Now the final subject of a mad scientist's rampage is bound to an ancient prophecy to defeat the true crisis.
1. Swords of a Past Battle

  
  


Prologue: Swords of a Past Battle  
  


As he looked across the field, he could see his opponents eyes, glowing with a deep mysterious green. The man's katana gleamed in the little light before the storm. As he watched the sword, he could only see the battle he had fought twenty years before. Suddenly, the cloaked man ran toward him, sword drawn, ready to strike. Their swords meet with sparks emanating from where they collided. They battled on this once peaceful ground. Their swords clashed again and again. The cloaked man soon knocked the other man's broadsword away, and it landed point first in the ground. With one quick sweeping kick, the cloaked man knocked his opponent down and lifted his weapon above his head. The downed man knew what would happen next, and the cloaked man did not disappoint. He brought the blade down to within inches of his opponent's face, and smiled as he offered a hand down to help him up.

The downed man looked up as he accepted the cloaked man's assistance. Once up he said, "You've learned to control yourself better since you came to live with us, Caden. It is no wonder why you are the top of your class."

The cloaked man gave a half-smile and placed the sword in a scabbard on his back. As he walked over to his opponent's sword he said, "And this is the same Cloud Strife that defeated Meteor?" He picked up the Shinra issued broadsword and returned it to its owner.

"I did have help you know…, but it did cost the life of someone dear to me… It's late, let's go home," the Cloud said. He continued to speak under his breath, "That battle was so long ago. Why does it still haunt me?"

Caden said nothing. When they reached their chocobos, Cloud faced Caden and said, "It's a long story, I'll tell you… some day." They rode away silently.


	2. Prophecy

  
  


Chapter 1: Prophecy  
  


It has been twenty years since Meteor struck, and the fall of Shinra. Without the organization of a global corporation, new nations arose. These new governments quickly found stability in its aftermath, but world unification was not to occur due to the ideals of their peoples. The world, however, is at peace.

The nation of Wutai has become a center of education and military superiority. Coral became a nation of resorts and recreation as the result of Costa del Sol and the Gold Saucer. Icicle is almost a deserted tundra due to the extreme cold, but many people congregate there to challenge Gaea's Cliff. Junon, the largest nation on the planet, became a scientific Mecca, and here is where the destroyed city of Midgar stands as a final relic of the Shinra. Mideel remained a nation of retirement communities, but grew its own tourism economy. Gongaga became a center of peace and serenity. The nation of Nibel, the only nation that can boast the ability of space travel, built a spaceport in the northernmost part of the nation. This is where Cloud, Tifa, and Caden live.

Cloud and Tifa fell in love shortly after Meteor struck and married two years later. Four years passed, and Cloud found a boy wandering through the Nibel Mountains near the abandoned Mount Nibel Mako Reactor. This boy looked exactly like Sephiroth, except as a boy of no more than four. Cloud drew his sword immediately, but hesitated when he saw the tattoo on the boy's right wrist, the number XIV. Cloud knew when he first saw him that this child was the final result of the Jenova Project, but did not know how. Cloud and Tifa took in the boy and named him Caden, as if he were a calling. They raised Caden as their own, but never told him anything about his origins or the Jenova Project, fearing another Nibelhiem incident.

Caden found at a young age that he had special powers. However, there was something different about him from the other "Sephiroth clones." He could hear things that no one else could. Never understanding it fully, Caden just listened.

Caden, now 18, was graduating from Wutai's elite Military Academy with its highest honor of Musashiden. It was graduation day for the academy; many came to the ceremony just to see the new military elite. Others were national representatives that had arrived to recruit the graduates from their respective nation into military services. The one who attains the high honor of Musashiden was the most prized of all the students. The story begins here on the green pastures of the academy campus.

Caden coolly leaned against the wall of a building as he waited in the noon day sun. He knew that the ceremonies would commence soon, but he needed to wait. "Why does she always do this? Ok, so I was late again. She had time to get it."

A young woman walked up next to Caden, "Got the camera!"

Caden looked at the woman, "Mar, you would think we would have enough pictures taken of both of us. Your father alone is going to take two or three rolls worth of pictures."

Marlene looked at the camera in her hand, "Nah, it's just the whole principle of the thing. I need to take pictures, and anyway I'll get to get a good angle of your speech. That face will be worth a thousand words."

"How about my impending bad photo make the speech, and not me."

"Ha ha ha! Come on, the ceremony is about to start." Marlene turned and walked away. Caden did the same but in the opposite direction. A hand suddenly grabbed his long platinum white pony tale. Marlene, with a sarcastic wit, said, "This way genius."

Caden allowed himself to be dragged, if only to avoid too much pain. "I- I knew that. Ow! Ow! Ow!"

The Academy, which was just south of the city of Wutai, was a like large city itself. However, during the graduation ceremonies it actually becomes the most populated city for a thousand kilometers. The graduating students wore light blue robes, but the Musashiden was required to ware a white robe and his sword. The entire student body sat in the front of the amphitheater. National dignitaries sat behind the students, and the student's families sat on both sides. The Five Mighty Gods of Wutai sat on the stage, so that two of them sat on one side, two sat on the other side and the most powerful of them, now the leader of Wutai, sat in the middle.

There were many speakers on hand, the next more boring than the preceding one, or so Caden thought. He was about to fall asleep when the last speaker finished. A man came up to the podium. He began to speak slowly "It is now time to present the honor of Musashiden. Would Caden Strife please step forward?"

Caden, without any hesitation, got up and walked to the stage. He could see Wutai's leader holding two amulets with green stones in them, one in her hands, and one around her neck. Caden walked up onto the stage as silence swept the crowd. He walked to the podium and bowed to the leader of Wutai. She stood up and walked out of the shadows to the podium, her face could now be seen by everyone. 

Yuffie Kisaragi became the spiritual and political leader of Wutai when her father, Godo, was murdered outside the Pagoda of the Five Mighty Gods ten years earlier. She put up her usual fit about it. However, as the last one to defeat her father in battle, it was her duty to lead Wutai.

"The great Leviathan has watched and protected Wutai for generations. He commands the power of water to ward off those who bring harm to innocence and peace. Leviathan's power is contained within the sacred materia. Each day it grows more powerful, and once a year, a new Leviathan Materia is born.

"Those who become Musashiden have shown their wisdom and valor; the signs of Leviathans ever protecting nature. To distinguish those who attain this honor, the newborn materia is given to them. This amulet ensures that Leviathan is with those who ware it."

Yuffie turned to Caden, and placed the amulet she was holding around his neck. Caden bowed toward Yuffie. Yuffie turned again to the podium to speak, "Ladies and gentlemen, this year's Musashiden."

Caden walked up to the podium. As Musashiden he is required to make a speech to the graduating class. Even though he had a speech written, Caden was not ready to speak. All he could do was fumble with his notes. Caden was about ready to begin when an explosion was heard in the dormitory sector. Under his breath, Caden said with relief, "Saved by the explosion."

A phone rang behind Caden and Yuffie answered it. She muttered only a few words and hung up. "Caden, there was a bomb in one of the dorms. I need you to help evacuate everyone to the shelters in the East Quad." She turned to the podium to explain the situation as Caden ran off the stage. "Everyone please stay calm. All civilians must report to the East Campus Quad. Instructions will be given there. All cadets assist the civilians to the East Quad, and all military personal report to the stage."

By the time she finished, Caden had arrived at the shelters and was herding people in. He looked back up at the stage and saw Yuffie and the other dieties were still up there. He then looked over at two advancing soldiers and thought to himself, "why do they have their rifles fixed at the stage? No!" He knew what they were doing. He turned to Marlene who was helping people into the shelters. "Marlene, take over for me!"

"Caden, we have an emergency here! Where the hell do you think you're going!?" the strain penetrating her voice.

"I'm going to keep this emergency from becoming a tragedy!" he turned again and ran to the stage. 

He reached the stage before the two soldiers. Yuffie stared at him, angrily, "What are you doing here!? I sent you to help get the civilians into the shelters!"

"The civilians are safe. I think that they are after you. Come on, we need to leave!" Caden said this just as the pair of blue clad soldiers walked up behind them. Neither of the soldiers had any expression behind their amber visors. Their eyes trained on a single target.

One of the soldiers pointed a gun at Caden as the other walked up to Yuffie and her companions. The first soldier shouted, "Freeze! Don't move!"

Caden, with only defiance in his eyes, found only a few words to say. "Not on your life!" With just as much fire, he pulled out his sword. He quickly dispatched one of the soldiers, but he could not get to the other soldier quick enough.

The remaining soldier shot once. Caden evaded, but the bullet ripped off the band around his ponytail. Caden's silvery-white hair was allowed to fall long. The soldier took one look at Caden, and was struck down by fear. With a stutter in his voice, he said, "N-no! It's not possible," Suddenly he lunged forward, and with his last gasps of air muttered his final words, "But...you're... dead..." With those words he collapsed and died.

Caden looked at the dead soldier and saw a dagger in his back and Yuffie standing behind him. She pulled the dagger from the bloodstained uniform and places it in a sheath on her right ankle. "We can defend ourselves… but, thank you. Guess that's the end of that raid." She turned to walk away, and said one last thing, "Caden, you should probably bind your hair back up."  
  


As soon as everyone was released from the shelters, Caden left the stage and watched as a red haired beast with a fiery tail walked toward Cloud. From the distance he was at, Caden could see a large fin-like main and the number XIII on his left hind leg. Two men in robes, boh elderly, flanked him.  
  


Cloud was surprised by the unexpected visit, but knew why he came. "Nanaki, you're here because of Caden?"

"Yes and no, there is more to it than that. This attack was not from the normal separatist factions. They were from some terrorist faction from deep in Junon. This was their first act of aggression that we can squarely pin on them, but I fear it is not the last. We don't have a clue who's leading them, but we think they are operating out of the Midgar Ruins" Nanaki's was completely serious. Cloud could see strain on his old friend's face.

"Is Reeve one of them?" Cloud inquired realizing the terrorist consisted of former Shinra soldiers and operatives.

"No. He's still the chairman of urban development in Junon. 

"It is likely the terrorist are interested in the autocratic rule of the Shinra. However, the most disturbing news is that the Midgar Reactors have been reactivated. Cloud, the life of the planet is again in danger. It is time Caden knows the truth. Tell him before he finds out by other means." With that said, Nanaki walks away followed by the two men who accompanied him. Before he was out of sight, Nanaki shouted back, "I told you years ago that my name was not so important, so what ever happened to calling me Red XIII." Cloud could only laugh to himself.

"I wouldn't worry too much about Caden. He did make Musashiden, he does possess great self-discipline. Cloud, he deserves to know." Cloud turned around and saw Yuffie standing behind him.

"Did you hear everything?" Cloud asks.

"Yes. Cloud, it may be wise to tell him soon. During the struggle, one of the soldiers knocked Caden's hair free and was paralyzed with fear. It may force him learn of his origin in a way that could destroy him, or worse." As silently as she appeared she began to walk away, but before she was out of sight, she said, "It was a good thing he came back to the stage. He was able to warn us of their true intentions before it was too late. Trust him, his loyalties are true."

"I will… I will," Cloud said silently.  
  


A few days after the graduation ceremony, Cloud and Caden were preparing the old buggy from the Gold Saucer. While Caden did some minor mechanical work on it, Cloud put a large steel blade into it.

"Where are we going? You hardly ever take out that sword. Must be going some place dangerous." Caden closes the hood and put his sword into the vehicle.

Cloud just continued his work, ignoring Caden's inquiry. Cloud couldn't bare the thought that the sword was to protect him from Caden, had he lost his mind. He finally answered, "We're going to Icicle. We have something to take care of near Bone Village."

"Well I'm ready to go, what about you, Father?"

"I'm ready, but… it's nothing, never mind… Well let's go." They soon departed, and did not look back.  
  


The open road was quiet and filled by miles upon miles of farmland and small "one horse" towns. Nothing major happened until they reached the port city of Asgard.

The only way to get to Icicle was to cross over by a ferry at Asgard or Costa del Sol. This remote city was no more than a small village during the crisis of Meteor, but when the new nations were conceived, it grew. As Cloud drove through, he noticed a small crowd near a pier. However, he soon realized it was not peaceful.

"Caden, do you see that crowd up ahead?"

"Yeah. Do you think there's trouble?"

"I don't think they're just betting on chocobo races. Let's check it out."

They got out of the buggy and ran toward the pier. Most of the people in the crowd were bystanders watching as three men fought. There were two men viciously attacking another. One of the two men was holding a dagger while the other held a small axe. The third man was barely fighting back, but he was cornered against a stack of boxes and creates. He held no weapon. Cloud and Caden reached the pier and drew their weapons.

One of the men noticed Cloud and Caden as they approached the inner ring of the fight, and yelled, "This is none of your business! Leave now and you won't get hurt!"

Caden's reply was not subtle. "It's our business now! You threatened us!"

"Oh, now your gunna pay! Get 'em you fool!" The man with the axe attacked with a single swing of the arm. He missed. The other man stood behind Caden and Cloud, but did not strike.

Cloud could only jab at Caden's remark, and it's effect, "Nice diplomacy Caden."

"Hey, I learned war tactics, not diplomacy." Caden deflected an attack from the man carrying the dagger, and lunged for the one holding the axe. He was able to knock the man down, hard. Caden held his sword to his rival's throat and with a calm voice, spoke, "Now leave, and don't look back."

"That pendent… shit! I picked a fight with a Musashiden!?" The man quickly got up and ran. His cohort was not far behind.

Caden had just watched the two escape behind a corner, when he realized the man they were attacking was also gone. "What happened to the other guy?"

Cloud looked around. "He got the hell outta here when those assholes came after us."

"Coward," Caden quietly commented.

Cloud began to walk away from the battle scene. "Yeah, well he would've gotten in the way. Come on, we'll be late for our ferry." Caden followed Cloud, but he wondered, who was that man and why was he ambushed? He couldn't shake it from his mind. When they reached the buggy his mind was still wandering through all the questions he had. He almost missed Cloud saying his name, "Caden, you alright?"

Caden broke from his daze, and looked towards Cloud. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just have the feeling that I knew that guy from somewhere. Like he had some importance to me… Maybe it's just me, but I can't shake the feeling."

"I know the feeling all too well," Cloud said as he opened a hatch on the buggy. "We better get moving, or we'll have to wait three days for the next boat."

"I'm ready when you are," Caden replied. "Let's go."  
  


It was mid day when they arrived, but for the wary travelers it may well have been evening. Caden looked to see what looked like jagged crystal spires peering out of a cave.

"Welcome to the City of the Ancients... Follow me, I need to tell you something," Cloud spoke without breaking his demeanor. "There is a building two-hundred meter down this road. We can rest there."

Caden still stared at the spires, and said nothing. He turned and followed Cloud. After about a minute or so Caden broke the silence with a tremor of disbelief in his breath, "This is the city of the Ancients?"

"Yes this is the ancient City of the Cetra, abandoned for thousands of years. Only a few of us have seen it since. This is the city were many lived, and died… Come, the building is right around this bend." Caden could see the sadness in his father's eyes.

"Father, if this place hurts you so much, why did you bring me here?" Caden did not know what to expect from Cloud, much less an answer.

"Caden, I brought you here because you need to know… you need to know where you're really from… We're here. I'll tell you more inside, but let's just rest for now."  
  


"Ugh! I feel like we've walking for an eternity," Caden says while flopping onto one of the mysteriously well-kept beds. "We defiantly didn't need those dragons." Caden looked at the fresh linens, "Hey, I thought you said that no one has lived here for thousands of years."

"Do you really need to here a ghost story now?" Cloud said as he sat on another bed

"Oh, I… uh… see," Caden sat up.

"Now I need to tell you something. It has to do with this place. Twenty years ago, the world was at the brink of annihilation. A warrior named Sephiroth had returned from the dead, or so we thought."

When Caden turned pale when he heard the name. He heard stories from other people of an enigmatic destroyer named Sephiroth. Caden had always thought that he was just a 'monster under the bed. "Sephiroth?" Caden quietly queried.

"He claimed that the planet was his and Jenova's, a creature that had once nearly destroyed the ancients. He summoned the most powerful magic in all existence, Meteor. We stopped him, but only after he murdered... Aeris…

"Aeris' life was cut so short. It wasn't an easy life for her either. Only weeks after she was born, Shinra's chief scientist, Professor Gast, was murdered by his assistant, Hojo. Hojo kidnaped Aeris and her mother, Ilfalna, to be studied like animals. He did sickening tests on them; that is until they escaped. Sadly, Iflana died trying. Before she died, she gave Aeris to a widow.

"Aeris grew up with her foster mother in Midgar. She grew to learn her power; a power to hear the planet. She also carried a strange materia her mother gave to her. It was a White Materia. She used to say it did nothing, that is, until the Black Materia was found. 

"Black Materia was the materia that summoned meteor. Aeris saw her destiny laid before her. She had to summon the one thing that could fight meteor, Holy. Her White Materia was the key. When Holy was cast, the materia glowed a pale green. That's when Sephiroth came..." Cloud's rock like demeanor began to crumble.

Caden could see his father falling apart before him, "Maybe we should stop there, you're barely holding yourself together."

"No, you need to know," Cloud began to pull himself together as he said this.

"Then change the subject," Caden pleaded. "What about Sephiroth?"

Cloud agreed with Caden, "Hojo did his experiments to clone an ancient. That's where Sephiroth fits in."

"Wo wo wo, hold on! Sephiroth was an ancient?"

"No, he wasn't. Hojo took cells from the dormant Jenova, thinking she was an ancient. Many members of SOLDIER were used like human guinea pigs. They were injected with Jenova cells, including myself. He tried to create exact clones of Sephiroth, but failed. What he created were hideous mutations.

"The experiments went horribly wrong. Several of the test subjects escaped and began to wreck havoc. SOLDIER was mobilized. Sephiroth led the expedition that included SOLDIER 1st class Zack, and two marines. I was with this party. We went to investigate the disturbance at the Mount Nibel reactor. What we found were the chambers that held the mutants. I was guarding the entrance at the time, but Zack told me that Sephiroth didn't see a mutant. He saw an exact clone of himself. It made him go mad.

"There is some uncertainty after that. According to Hojo's notes, after Aeris died, he took cells that he had collected from her and injected them into this clone. It was the only confirmed successful clone, and now was of ancient blood. For some reason it never left the pod it developed in. That is until about six years later when the Mount Nibel reactor was shut down."

Caden grew a little impatient, "So, what does this have to do with me?"

Cloud looked at his adopted son, "Caden, you were this clone."

Caden had trouble with what his father just told him. "How is it possible? Am I supposed to believe that I'm just some mad scientist's experiment! ...Why didn't you tell me this sooner!?" he said as he stood up

"Do you think I wanted to tell you? If it were up to your mother and I, we would just go on living a normal life. Unfortunately, destiny called for you. When that terrorist's bullet ripped your hair band off, we all knew that you needed to know."

"Know what? That I am some kind of biological jigsaw puzzle!"

"No, that you are more important to this world then anyone had thought. The world is dying; it has been since Shinra began using Mako. It was believed that if Jenova was destroyed, the planet would heal itself, but it hasn't. Some one or some thing is out there killing the planet again, and you have something about you that may save everything."

Upon hearing these words, Caden immediately calmed down, "Why... why me? What is makes me so different?" Caden sat down again.

"A prophecy. When Jenova first appeared, she promised friendship to the ancients, but betrayed them. She was captured, but only after most of the ancients had already died or transformed into monsters. The ancient prophet Leonoe made a prophecy that said the descendent of the Grand Mage Ifalonoe will come baring the wings of an angel and the curse of the dark one, and will rid the world of the great evil that destroys existence.

"Caden, your skill with magic is no accident, and your strength with the sword is not either. You are a direct descendent of Ifalonoe and Jenova. You learned to use your powers with skill and discipline. There is no doubt that you are the one the prophecy speaks of. Caden, this city is your heritage; this is where your journey must begin. You know the Cetra language almost as well as I do, so learn from what is written here. The city will guide you, and you will know what says. Come, there is one more thing I must show you."  
  


As he walked through the cavern, Caden was filled with awe by the crystal formations around him. Each one shimmered with it's own splendor and shade. One of the crystals caught his eye when it glowed with a strange but warm light. "What is this place?" Caden asked as he approached the glowing stone.

Cloud yelled to him, "Caden, don't touch that!" but he was too late. Caden had already touched the crystal. Immediately around them, all the crystals glowed, but this time with a dark foreboding red. From the cracks, a green gas flowed out, but it did not dissipate like it should. It flowed like a stream through the air and joined before them.

"Wha-what is that?" Caden said as he drew his sword, hands shaking.

"Lifestream…" Cloud eyes began to glow with the Mako in his blood. "Run now! It's after you!"

"Why me?" Caden asked while backing away and drawing his sword.

"You touched the crystal. Now run!" Cloud commanded as he began to withdraw.

Before they could escape, the crimson crystals grew out over the cavern's opening, blocking their only exit. An eerie voice echoed through the cave, "You will not leave here alive, Creature! The White Materia will remain here!"

"Who are you?" Caden asked preparing for attack.

"I no longer have a name nor a past. What I am now is the guardian of Cetra's final legacy!" the voice responded.

"Caden, did you bring your materia? Normal attacks will not harm the Lifestream," Cloud spoke with vigor and fear.

Caden looked at his sword's materia slots. "Not my best."

"Use it anyway. We don't have a choice." Cloud said as he placed orbs on his blade. "Let's just hope you don't have to call on Leviathan."

Caden looked at the pendent around his neck. He had almost forgotten it, but he was glad it was there. He looked up and saw the Lifestream swirling into a green mist with two dark glowing eyes piercing through it. The voice spoke again, "It ends now!" Soon after, a lightning bolt struck Caden and knocked him down, but he got up again, ready to cast his own spell.

"Fire!" The mist was engulfed in flames as Caden commanded, but it did nothing. "The hell! My magic is useless against it. I could use some help over here!" but before Cloud could come to Caden's aid, a crystal wall grew in front of him.

"It's useless to fight!" The mist attacked again with a bolt, but Caden evaded.

Caden could find no other coarse to go in his next attack. Fire did not work and his only other materia was Heal. His only choice was to summon Leviathan, the materia he had been entrusted with. "I have no other choice. Forgive me, Leviathan!" 

Before he could finished, a portal appeared above Caden. From its depth a serpent came forth.

Caden could hear its thoughts as it came through the gate to his aid. Child, I understand. This fight is now both of ours. Leviathan summoned all his power together and in a mighty wave of sea, he struck the mist, only to disappeared again.

The mist slumped down to the floor beneath it as if it were a living creature. "No! I cannot fail again. Jenova must not destroy the planet!"

Cloud watched as the specter broke down. Watching it from behind the veil of crystal, he had a sudden revelation. He knew who this spirit was, this vanguard soul before him. He cried out, "Caden, stop! It's Aeris."

"Aeris?!?!" Caden asked as he looked questioningly at Cloud.

"Cloud?" the specter spoke softly.

Again, Caden questioned the mist, "Who are you?"

The mist swirled again, but this time formed into the image of a young woman with long brown hair. Cloud watched from behind his makeshift prison as this happened. When it was over, the wall before him shattered and fell, and the cavern reverted to its previous form. He walked over to Caden, who was now deeply confused. Cloud, now filled with a flood of emotion, spoke to the ghostly image before him, "I-is it really you, Aeris, but how? ...Twenty years... There are so many questions I have. I… I don't know where to begin."

"It's a long story," Aeris said calmly. ""The planet asked that I stay and protect White Materia. The planet still was aware of the threat from Jenova, and that he may return to this city to destroy it, in some form."

Cloud was confused, "But we defeated her."

"No, you didn't defeat him. The body Hojo kept was a dummy, just something to throw off anyone that tried to find the real Jenova, after it escaped. Jenova is immortal, but Holy can destroy him. However only a descendent of Ifalonoe can wield the White Materia… and I was the last. Now do you understand why I had to stay? "

"Then I think it's time for you to meet some one." Cloud turned to his son, "Caden, meet you genetic line."

Caden stood still, "Umm... hi."

"I knew there was something different about him, but how." Aeris looked directly at Caden's gently glowing eyes. "He looks just like him, even those eyes."

"He was cloned from Sephiroth, and injected with your cells. Hojo had always tried to clone an Ancient, and finally succeeded. Caden is in a way, your brother or son."

"He is different from the others," Aeris concluded. Caden, follow me." Aeris turned and led them from the cave to a small building to north. "In here you will find the Crystal Shrine, Ifalonoe's last great work. Follow the stairway down to the altar. I will meet you there." Aeris burst into the spirit energy and disappeared.

Cloud was disturbed by the directions, and felt he could not go. "Caden, you go without me…"

"I understand." Caden walked into the shell structure alone. Inside he saw a large hovering image of a fish in the middle of the otherwise empty structure. When Caden approached it, the image disappeared. The image was replaced with a long stairwell. Caden began to descend into its depths. He saw the magnificence of what was beneath, as city of crystal shone before him. He continued his descent down into the marvel of this ancient culture. When he had reached the end of his descent, Aeris was there, waiting.

"Follow me." Aeris turned and walked about a meter in front of Caden. "Because you are last descendent of Ifalonoe, you must protect the White Materia from Jenova. If he controls it, there will be nothing to stop him from destroying the planet." They walked until they reached an altar on a platform. Caden looked down and saw dried blood on the otherwise crystal clear floor. "This is why Cloud didn't come down here. This place must still haunt him. I can't blame him… Caden, pick up the White Materia. You are now the protector of Holy."

Caden stepped up to the altar and looked down again. On the altar were two small round clear stones. "Wait a minute, there are two of them. Which one is the White Materia?"

"They both are. Legend goes that, 'after the fall comes, an angel will appear from the darkness and mend the broken soul of the Cetra.' Other parts of the legend call him Cetrae Angelus."

"So I'm supposed to be the one who can restore the materia into one, but... how?"

"You will know when the time comes. The planet needs you to fulfill your destiny. Just know that when both glow a pale green, Holy is ready. It will only present itself when you prove that you are the 'angel' the prophecy speaks of."

"Then my destiny awaits, and I will not fail. For my family's sake, for my honor's sake, for the planet's sake I will not fail." Caden took both materia and equipped them into adjacent slots on his sword. "When they merge, I will be ready."  
  


Some time passed before Caden returned to Cloud. "Father, I now understand why I'm here. You will not be disappointed. Thank you."

Cloud wondered what Caden meant. "For what?"

"For showing me the path, for showing me that I do have purpose in this world. You brought me here not knowing what demons I would unleash... I knew I was different as a child, but never knew how. Now I know, so thank you."

Cloud was touched, but did not want to admit to it. However, in a effort to maintain his demeanor, Cloud tried to change the subject. "Now let's get home before your mother kills me."


	3. Atavus

  
  


Chapter 2: Atavus

  
  


Cloud looked down at the woman praying before him; she had barely noticed him as he stood there. He now realized where and when he was. In desperation he tried to warn Aeris, but could not speak or move. Cloud was paralyzed in a past he wished was only horrible nightmare. He was trapped, forced to watch the end Aeris' life.

Nothing was different, from the cool stagnant air to Cloud's vacant stare. The motions of both Cloud and Aeris stayed in timing as well. Everything remained in sync with that horrid day. Only one piece remained, and as it happened in the past, Sephiroth swoops down. He held the Masamune like a bolt of lightning sent down by some ominous sky. He pierces Aeris through the back, and stands there with his cold, green, indifferent eyes.

Masamune lay quiet in the gapping and mortal wound in Aeris, stained with warm blood. With the sword still skewering her, Aeris spoke softly. "You failed me, Cloud. You let me die. You were supposed to be my bodyguard."

  
  


With those words still echoing through his mind, Cloud awoke in a cold sweat. He sat up just as Tifa turns to comfort him. "Cloud, it was that dream again, wasn't it? The same dream you've been having the past three nights."

"Yes, but it seemed so real," Cloud began to breakdown.

"Cloud, It's not your fault. He came out of nowhere," Tifa tried to reassure her beleaguered husband.

"But I was supposed to protect her," Cloud sobbed softly.

Tifa knew that whatever was causing Cloud to relive his worst nightmare, happened on his trip with Caden. "Cloud, what happened in Icicle?"

Cloud was silent, because he didn't know if he could believe what he saw, but soon spoke, "I... I don't know if I can explain it."

"Try to, this is not healthy."

Before he could say anything, Cloud heard Caden in the chocobo stables. "Swift, you ^*#%$ bird, let go of my hair! Ow! Hey, hey, hey, get over here, I'm not done chewing you out!"

Tifa just fell back onto her pillow and said, "I knew we should have gotten him a dog instead."

  
  


By the time Caden got Swift under control, the sun had risen to about a quarter the way up in the sky. He picked up a crate of greens, and opened it. The fresh picked gysahls smelled like a spring after noon. He brought them over to his chocobo, "Now give me one good reason why I should give you any." 

The chocobo gave a quick 'wark' and perked his head. 

"Ehh… it's a good enough reason," Caden said as he filled a small troff with the greens. Swift happily munched on the greens.

"Little trouble with Swift," Caden turned to see Cloud just inside the stable.

"Nah, he's just testy in the morning." Caden put the now empty crate on the floor.

"Ain't we all. Come on, breakfast is almost ready," Cloud walked out of the barn.

"I'll be right in." Caden turned to his penned chocobo. "Now Swift, behave or no mimetts," and with that he turns to follow his father. However, he saw another man standing just inside the barn. Caden figured that he entered the stables while Swift was misbehaving and stayed hidden in the shadows. He could not say a word before the man. 

"I was impressed with your skill in Asgard. If you hadn't shown up, well, I would have been a goner. You were better then I thought," the man said cloaked in shadows.

"You're the guy from the pier, but... who are you?" Caden stared cautiously at the man

"My true name is not important. For now, you may call me Atavus."

"What do you know about me, Atavus?"

"More than you even know about yourself, Number XIV." When man said this, Caden looked down at the tattoo on his hand questioningly. "Yes, I was there at your beginning. I watched as you developed from the pure genetic material extracted from Sephiroth to the man you are now. I watched as cells taken from the Ancient, were added to your Mako filled pod. I watched you as you learned to use your powers.

"You are very special. The last ancient and a perfect Sephiroth clone. You even carry his stance. Your abilities are being squandered here. Come with me! You can be something so much more! I can help you unlock your true power."

Caden just closed his eyes, laughed to himself, then spoke, "You are not who you say you are. I know the truth about you. Atavus is a long forgotten Cetra word. So forgotten, only three living souls know it. So either you stole my father's notes, or you are something ancient and forgotten yourself." Caden opens his eyes again as he pulls his sword from its scabbard. The two clear materia equipped into it glimmered in the little light.

The light glittered in the man's eye. "Believe what you wish, boy," he said as he escaped into the darkness.

"What was that about?" Caden asked himself.

"Wark wark," Swift perked his head again.

"He was strange… but very familiar. I couldn't sense his being. It was as if he weren't from the Lifestream; so alien... He must have been Jenova," and with that, Caden walk's out of the barn.

  
  


By the time Caden entered the house, Cloud and Tifa were already clearing the table. Tifa turned around and asked, "What took you so long?"

"I think I just met Jenova, or someone who was obsessed with the Jenova Project."

Tifa and Cloud both were now looking at him, eyes wide open. In unison they both asked, "You what?!?!"

"He must have slipped in when Father left. I think my materia scared him though," Caden pulled out his materia-equipped sword. "The light must have hit it just right. It looked like he knew what it was." Caden hesitated for a moment, but regained himself. "Father, this may be a good time to tell Mother about our uh… bonding experience."

"Tell me what? Jenova's dead, we were all there, and where did Caden get the White Materia?" Tifa know realized what the two small clear stones in Caden's katana were.

Cloud's face grew serious, "Tifa, darling, I think you should sit down. …We found more then ruins in Icicle. We found Aeris, or rather her ghost. The planet asked her to stay behind and protect the White Materia. The planet knew that Jenova was alive, and would try to destroy the Materia.

"Tifa, Jenova was never at the reactor, Hojo's lab, or the North Cave. We fought a puppet, and the true Jenova was the puppeteer. Caden was given the White Materia to protect, and use eventually."

"Then Caden is…"

"The last Cetra, and the descendent of Ifalonoe."

Tifa looked at Caden. "So this means that Caden is the Cetrae Angelus?"

"Yes."

" Does the International Union know yet?"

"No, but I am meeting with Nanaki in a few days. He's gonna bring it up with the Science Council as well as the Security Council."

"Hey wait a minute, ok so I look like Sephiroth and maybe have a similar style of fighting, but I am not a lab rat, or a risk." Caden felt threatened by the thought of the Security Council's meeting about him.

Sensing Caden's insecurity, Cloud tries to calm him down. "They're going to study the ancient text, and discuss the now apparent Jenova threat."

"Oh," was Caden's simple yet reassured answer.

"Anyway, I'm leaving for Cosmo Canyon today." Cloud turns to Caden and asks, "Weren't you going to meet Marlene in North Coral today, Caden."

"Oh shit! I almost forgot." Caden grabbed his sword and his coat as he runs out the door. "Swift, we gotta run!"

Tifa again tried her hand at sarcasm, "Forget a dog, we should have gotten him a watch."

Cloud and Tifa could here Caden outside yelling. "Swift, let's move. Hey! Let go of my hair!"

"How about a dog that can tell time?"

"Oh Cloud, you're terrible!"

  
  


"That was close. Hey! We're making good time, Swift. If we keep this up we may not even be to late… for once. Come on the Nibel-Coral border is just up ahead." As soon as he said that, Swift stopped abruptly. "Swift, why did you stop? Uh…oh, I see." What Caden now saw before him were two soldiers in blue uniforms with machineguns pointed at him.

One of the soldiers walked up to him, and ordered, "Get off the chocobo now!" Caden got off Swift with his hands in the air. "Nice and slowly."

The second soldier walked over letting his guard down. He walked right up to Caden. Caden smiled wryly and, with lightning speed, took his sword out slashing the soldier's gun barrel clear. "Got your barrel," Caden says sarcastically as he tossed the metal tube away. He then knocked the other soldier's gun away. Caden looked at the now fallen soldier. "Now, who do you guys work for."

"We're not talking!" one of the soldiers vehemently replied.

Caden raised his sword over the soldier's head, and brought it down on the soldier's neck. However, he did not so much as cut a hair. "Funny, I thought you were. Now talk before my hand gets tired."

"Alright! All right! I don't know who's all the way up at the top, but we're under the command of a guy named Lenox."

"Ok, now where do I find Lenox?"

"I-I don't know."

"Hmm… my hand is getting tired. I could slip, and you could have a severed carotid artery. Nasty way to go."

"M-M-Midgar Ruins."

"That's more like it." Caden put his sword back into its scabbard. "Oh yeah, one last thing. Fire!" Flame rose up and engulfed the two guns. Caden mounted Swift again and left, but not without him having one last word. "Oh! And, have a nice day."

The soldiers got up and were prepared to follow Caden, when a voice came over their radio. "Don't follow him. I got what I needed here. Return to Midgar immediately! We need to prepare our defenses. He will come, and he will come ready to fight."

  
  


"And as they come around the bend, it's Swift followed by Caden. Here they come to the finish line, and it's Swift by a beak."

"Ha ha ha, I'm not that late, Mar… am I?"

"No, your not. I'm actually surprised." Marlene turned around and stared at the cityscape behind her. "Ah North Coral, home for all these years. It wasn't like this when I was young though. If it weren't for Dio sinking so much money into the city's development, it would still be a shanty town... So Caden, how was the trip?"

"Don't ask."

Marlene turned around again, and faced Caden. "That bad, huh. So what attacked you this time?"

"Two soldiers, err, mercenaries, err… well, they wore blue uniforms and carried guns."

"The same soldiers that attacked us at the graduation ceremonies? The ones that you decided to go cowboy over?"

"The same…! Hey! They were after Kami Kisaragi."

"Alright, so the civilians weren't in any real danger. … I'm not getting into this argument again!"

"Actually, I'm beginning to feel like they have been coming after me for some reason."

"Caden, this is a new side of you I've never seen before; paranoia." Marlene looked at Caden, surprised.

"Heh heh heh! What am I going to do with you?" Both Caden and Marlene laughed. "So what are we going to do today?"

"Got your Golden Pass with you?"

"Yeah, but I'm fresh out of cash."

"You still have those 500 gold points."

"Hey! I'm saving those."

"Oh, you'll never save enough for that Masamune replica. I don't even know why you would want such a vile sword anyway. Too many died at the end of that blade… Hey! What about Swift?"

"What about Swift?"

"We could race him. Isn't that right, Swift?" Marlene asks as she scratches Swift's head. As usual, Swift responds with a quick 'wark'.

"Nah, Swift's not much of a race choc…" Caden was interrupted by his faithful, feathered friend's incessant hair grabbing. "Ow! Swift! Oh… alright, I'll race you." Swift 'warked' again. "Gees, persuaded by a bird. Marlene, how do you get him to listen to you?"

"Dunno. Guess he likes me better." Marlene then grabbed Caden's hair, and dragged him along. "Come on, let's go to the Gold Saucer."

"Why does everyone grab my hair? Ow! Hey! Ok, ok, you can let go."

Marlene let go of Caden's hair. "Oh, you're no fun! Well let's go already." As the three of them begin to walk, Marlene notices something off in the distance. "What is that thing? It looks like a tank with arms."

"Yeah, and it's coming right at us! And look what's next to it." Next to the mysterious machine were two soldiers in blue uniforms.

One of the soldiers began to bark orders, "Get the ancient!"

"Ancient? But I thought they were all dead." Marlene was puzzled.

"Shoot first, ask questions latter," Caden said as he pulled out his sword. "I'll tell you everything."

"Here they come!" Marlene yelled as she pulled a folded bow out of a long bag on her back.

"Foldable. Niiice!" Caden drew his sword into an attack position. He again looked at the on coming force. "The hell? Mar, look at that robot, what does it look like."

"It looks like someone got into the Shinra's old designs. That's the Slavedriver, but the whole project was scrapped after the Wutai Mine Revolts."

"So you didn't sleep through weapons tech class. Now do you remember what magic attack it was immune to?"

"No. Quake maybe?"

"Would make sense."

"Then electric attacks should work." Marlene looked at the attackers who were now before them. "Bolt!" The sky around them tuned to clouds and a lightning bolt came down and struck the robot dead on, but it appeared to absorb it. "Uh…, Caden, what just happened?"

"Shit! Now I remember. The mine it was test-bedded for was a lightning materia mine. The Slavedriver absorbed the hit. Well if lightning won't work then maybe this will. Ice!" Slavedriver was soon encapsulated in a block of ice. The block shattered and Airbuster was visibly weakened by the blast.

One of the soldiers stepped forward and fired a few rounds but missed Caden. Caden retaliated with a quick slash of his sword. The bloodstained soldier promptly fell. Before the other soldier could fire, Marlene launched an arrow straight though his heart. By this time, all bystanders in the area had already left, fearing for their lives, including Swift

"So, Mar, which robot do you want, the big one or the big one?"

"And I thought Papa had a lousy sense of humor."

Slavedriver began to fire its primary guns. The hit grazed Caden's arm. He didn't flinch, but with his usual sense of humor, decided to taunt the robot. "What are you aiming at? Your mama was a toaster, and your daddy was a rusty nail."

"Caden, don't… piss off… the murderous… robot!" Marlene said as if to have it register in Caden's head clearly.

"What's he gonna do?" Caden spoke to soon, because Slavedriver was already moving in to tackle him. "Oomph!"

"That's what! Now how are we supposed to beat this thing?" Marlene asks as Caden got up off the ground. However, before he could say anything, the upper body section of the robot exploded. The burning wreckage settled to the ground.

"That's… how?" Caden walked over to the flaming wreckage. "What happened?"

"I happened." Caden looked up to see a large man with an artificial arm behind the robotic corpse. He soon realized that it was Barret, Marlene's guardian. "A little plastic explosives, a little distraction, a little over protective father…" Barret kicked part of the mangled metal. "Never thought I'd hafta blow up another one of 'em."

"Papa you didn't have to. Caden and I were more then able to fight that thing," Marlene argued.

Barret turned his head towards Caden. "And what about you Caden?… Wait a minute… you got here on time?"

Caden jaw dropped. "Why is it so hard for everyone to believe that I can be punctual… occasionally?"

"Because, it's not you Caden." Marlene walked up to Swift, who just walked out of a street corner, were he hid. "And anyway, Swift sometimes doesn't like to go anywhere."

Barret's attention again focused on Caden. "Caden, what was that damn tin can attacking for?"

"One of the soldiers ordered robot to 'get the ancient.' I think they were after me, but… how did they know?"

"So Cloud finally got off his spiky ass and told you."

"He didn't exactly have a choice." Caden's face grew serious, and his eyes seemed to glow just a little more.

"Ok, ok, I was jes kiddin."

Marlene walked up behind Caden. "Is anyone gonna let me in on this secret, or will I be left in the dark?"

"It's a very long story, but you may need to know… We should probably talk about this at your place." Caden turned and began to walk. "Ya' coming or not?"

"Ok, this ought 'a be interesting." Marlene turned and followed Caden, and Barret was not far behind.

  
  


"So basically, I'm the only one that even stands a chance against this thing," Caden finished his story.

"Shit! The planet's in danger AGAIN?!?! Awright, time to come outta retirement!" Barret was all fired up.

Marlene just grabbed his arm and said, "Not with your back, Papa."

"Damn, ya ruinin all my fun." Barret sat back down. "So Caden, wut ya gonna do?"

"I'll eventually have to go into the ruins of Midgar. That's where all this seems to center."

"Caden, I'm going with you, and don't give me your same lame excuse. 'I can't get you involved,'" Marlene imitated Caden in a bratty kid's voice. "You've been saying that since we were kids."

"Runs in da family," Barret retorted. "But I will say it."

"Then what was the point of all those years of military training?" Marlene asked in response. Barret knew she had made up her mind already, so he stayed quiet. Barret knew that Marlene had grown up to be like him, stubborn.

"Ok, I get the point, but it'll be dangerous," Caden gave a half smile as he said this. "Probably need a stronger force then just the two of us."

Barret sat up, "Yo! Cloud's going to meet with Red XIII 'bout you, right."

Caden was puzzled, "Red XIII?"

Barret corrected himself, "Nanaki… sorry. It's wut we called him in the old days."

"Yeah, so what?"

"So go wit him and talk to the general assembly 'bout your case. They bin wantin' ta do sumthin' 'bout those terrorist."

"Not a bad idea. They will probably want to talk to me directly anyway. " Caden got up to leave, but said something sarcastically before he left, "Thanks, Mr. Barret."

"Shit! Stop callin me that!" Barret responded, knowing it was just Caden joking.

"Hey! Caden, wait for me!" Marlene said as she ran after Caden.

  
  


As they walked through the streets of North Coral, Marlene began to chuckle. Caden looked at her, and asked, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, I just realized that I have my own guardian angel." Marlene stopped her giggling. "Well so much for the chocobo races."

"We'll have some other day for that, but now there is a greater need; one for the planet. Are you sure you're up to it?"

"For the last time, YES!"

"Then let's go." They both got onto Swift and left.


	4. Operation Fallen Phoenix

  
  


Chapter 3: Fallen Phoenix  
  


"Father, stop!" Caden yells as he sees Cloud leaving by Chocobo. Swift was running as fast as he could with two passengers, which is still pretty fast.

Cloud stops, and turns around to saw his son getting off Swift. "Caden, what's going on? I thought you were going to spend the day with Marlene."

"A wannabe personnel administrator changed our plans." Caden walks up to Cloud and his chocobo. "We're going with you instead."

"What?!?!"

"Barret also figured that the General Assembly would have questions about me. Also, those soldiers that keep popping up all over the place, I think they're looking for me. They used an old Slavedriver to get me."

"Who would have the money to pull this off? Undamaged Slavedrivers are hard to find, they were almost all destroyed at the beginning of the Wutai-Shinra war. …Well, we might as well get moving. Marlene, you're going to need a chocobo, so take Aura. Caden, tell your mother that you're coming with me."

"Ok." Caden ran for the house, went in through the back door, and quickly yelled, "Going with Father. Love ya! Bye!" Caden ran out the door again.

Tifa walked into the room just recently vacated by Caden, leaving her students alone in the adjoining dojo. "I hate it when he does that," Tifa muttered as he turned around again to rejoin the class.  
  


The unlikely crew was soon on its way. It was quiet for a long time, with only the occasional 'wark' the chocobos made. The silence quickly began to bother Marlene. "So, Cloud, why did you decide to become an archeologist?" Marlene had known Cloud since the days in Midgar, but she never understood his driving force or ways. "It's so different from what you and Papa did. A soldier of your skill could have been a general by now."

"You were probably to young to remember when Aeris died," Cloud said softly.

"No… I remember her, I even remember the day Elmyra found out. I was too young to understand what happened… I used to call her 'the Flower Lady.'" Marlene turned her head away almost sorry she asked the question.

Cloud sighed lightly. "It's all right, I know how hard it is." Cloud carried on answering Marlene's question, "After the war, I began studying anything and everything I could find about the Cetra. I needed to know what they..., she died for. So… I took up archeology. First as almost a hobby, but it consumed me in he end. By the time I realized it, I was already an expert in my field. Well, I couldn't be a mercenary as well, so I put down my sword for good."

Caden, with his usual wit, could not resist joking about the large sword on Cloud's back. "So, what's that on your back."

Cloud looked at Caden with a questionable look. "That was bad."

Caden tried to look as regal as he could; proud of what he jokingly saw as complement. "I try my worst." None of the three could keep a straight face.

"Well I have another question. Why don't you look a day over twenty?" Marlene asked.

"Good health, careful diet," Cloud all so carefully said.

Caden knew Cloud was joking. "Come on, seriously."

Cloud mood grew serious, "The Jenova cells in my body keep me young... Actually, it's a virus called Genocide that Jenova's body produced. The same virus transformed or killed most of the Cetra population into monsters 2000 years ago."

"So, why haven't I become a monster yet?" Caden became a little concerned. 

"Maybe because you are genetically related to Jenova himself."

"Well, uh… that's a comfort… I think."

Cloud continued. "We don't age, but it comes on the heels of those who didn't survive the experiments."

"Eternal life; kinda unsettling," Marlene said.

"Interesting response. Most people would kill to have the ability to live for ever."

"So, why doesn't everyone have this virus?" Marlene was intrigued by the thought of immortality.

"First of all it does cause most people to turn into monsters, and even if it does work, the person is nothing more than a puppet when Jenova is near by..." Cloud trailed off

Marlene knew there was more. "And?"

"And some people just want to live out their lives."

"So, where does that leave me? I was born to be like Sephiroth, who was born to be like Jenova," Caden was again bothered by the idea of his liniage.

"The same thing we all have to do, follow what we feel is right," Cloud said. Cloud's wisdom was years ahead of what his face would say.

"I'll be there with you, Caden." Caden looked over to his right to see Marlene give a warm smile. "But first, let's talk with the Union."  
  


It took two days to reach Cosmo Canyon, the seat of the International Union. For years before the fall of the Shinra, this small rock-face city was a haven for peace and enlightenment, but now it was the home of open dialog between the seven nations. The building that housed this champion of peace was a beautiful testament to the architectures of the world. Each section of the building had it's own unique appearance, and national origin. Truly a wonder of the new world order.

As for the International Union's General Assembly itself, five members were chosen by each nation, one for each of the Union's branches. These branches were the Science, Economic, Security, General Diplomacy, and Judiciary Councils. At any given time, these thirty-five members will be discussing various diplomatic and international issues, but the coming days would be different from any policy they have ever come across.

As they rode into the city, Cloud, Caden, and Marlene were met by Nanaki. "I trust that your journey went well?" Nanaki walked up to his old friend. "So, I take it he knows... the truth."

Cloud jumped off his chocobo. "He knows, and he took it very well… but this whole thing has gotten completely out of control. Jenova is apparently still alive. Caden wishes to address the General Assembly directly."

"The General Assembly? But we haven't had a meeting of the General Assembly since…"

"Since Mako Reactor One was shut down. I know, but the planet may be in a greater danger then ever before. You know better than I do that if the Mako reactors in Midgar continue to operate, then the planet will die within the century. Caden may be the key to our survival. The second sign is already here."

Nanaki looked very distraught. "Very well, but you know that our success rate at rallying even two councils together is not great. Now try getting all five together..., I can't promise you anything."

"They'll come for this meeting. Our very survival is at stake."

Caden looked out into the eternal darkness surrounding him. He could not figure out where he was, or even if it was in existence. "Caden, come, join me! The powers of the planet will be ours," a voice spoke to him. Caden stepped back. It shocked him, because the voice sounded much like his own, but somewhat older.

"Who are you? Show your face!"

"Do you really think you can face me? Can you handle the truth; what came before you?" Two glowing green eyes pierced the darkness of the abyss.

"You are just an illusion; a trick of the mind. Sephiroth died twenty years ago." The eyes were soon accompanied by the figure of a tall man, with long platinum white hair walking out of the unknown. He wore a dark partially armored cloak and wielded a two-meter long sword.

"Did I, or was that another of Jenova's illusions? Come boy, let's see if you truly are of my blood!" The figure commanded as he began his charge.  
  


The darkness faded as Caden woke up from the nightmare. He sat up on his bed, and looked around. "It was just a dream, nothing more. But what did it mean? There was something different about this one… Was that... Sephiroth?"

Caden got out of his bed and dressed for the day. Again, he was faced with making a speech, but this one would affect the planet. His distaste of public speaking needed to be put aside. He took only a few minutes to get ready, and left room. Cloud was waiting outside. "Ready?"

"Yeah, but… nothing, just forget about it. Come on, I have to make a fool of my self on a podium again."

"Hey! At least you don't have motion sickness."

Marlene was sitting at a table sipping a cup of coffee. She looked up just as Caden and Cloud walked in the kitchenette. "So you ready to look stupid again, Caden?"

Caden jerked his head back. "Hey! …That's what I said... Sorta."

"Come on you two, Caden's not that bad at public speaking… really." Cloud turned toward the door. "Well, let's go?"

"Yeah, we're coming." Caden followed his father, and Marlene followed close behind.  
  


"All rise! Now entering, Executive General Nanaki of Seto." All the members stood up as Nanaki entered the grand hall that housed the International Union's General Assembly. Caden, who despite being nervous, was calm and collected. Cloud had taken his place in the Nibel Science Council seat, and Marlene sat in the general stands.

The Assembly sat down again as Nanaki approached the podium. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Assembly, I am aware that this is a very unusual gathering. However, it has been brought to my attention that a force still exists that could unravel everything we have put together over the past two decades. I am referring to the ancient threat, Jenova." The crowds began to murmur. Most of the Assembly thought it preposterous that some biological experiment could be so dangerous, but they continued to listen. "As you are all well aware, the Jenova Project implemented by the Shinra was carried out in Mako Reactor One on Mount Nibel. What you may not know is that one of the test subjects did survive after it was shut down. He has come here today to brief you on this new threat. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, Caden Strife"

Caden walked up to the podium as a silence swept across the spectators. The Assembly's eyes fixed on Caden as he began to speak. "Good morning members of the Assembly. As Executive General Nanaki just stated, I am the last surviving test subject of the Jenova Project. My existence was no accident. Shinra's chief scientist, Dimitri Hojo, was obsessed with creating a clone of the greatest warrior in the history of this planet. About twenty-six years ago he took cells from Sephiroth, and cultivated them into the man you see before you.

"It sadly does not end there. Six years later, after the last of the ancients, Aeris Gainsborough, was murdered, Hojo returned and added cells taken from her to my pod while I was still developing. As a result I am an ancient and Jenovan.

"Just recently, I was made aware of all this. This is because, during the graduation ceremonies for the Wutai Military Academy, two unidentifiable men stormed the campus. I later learned their leader was a man by the name of Lenox, but he is only a liaison between the terrorist and a the organization's leader. That someone or something reactivated the eight Midgar Mako Reactors, and is threatening the planet directly.

"I believe that I encountered this phantom leader, and that it was Jenova. I could not sense his presence at all, as if alien to the Lifestream itself. If he were of this planet's Lifestream, I would have known. Only Jenova was ever alien to this world. Even Sephiroth had Spirit Energy from the Lifestream flowing through him.

"If Jenova is allowed to exist, the planet will die, and us with it. This is a serious threat that must be met swiftly, there is no other choice. Members of the Assembly, consider this," Caden finished as he put his notes down. "I now yield the floor to Executive General Nanaki." Caden walked away from the podium, as the hall again erupted into murmurs and whispers.

Nanaki again approached up to the podium. The hall silenced as he began to speak. "Chairman Strife of the Science Council will know discus the threat of Jenova and the study into Cetrae Angelus." Nanaki backed away as Cloud approached the podium.

Cloud stood at the podium and stared out across the other thirty-four members of the Assembly as he began to speak. "Fellow members of the Assembly, 2000 years ago, a creature crash landed onto our planet in northern Icicle, in the Northern Cave region. This creature soon made contact with human kind when he wandered into a nearby Cetra village. Those that survived the encounter wrote that it had the appearance all their ancestors, and that it promised peace and fellowship. The creature betrayed the Cetra's trust by unleashing a plague, now known as Genocide. The virus caused vast mutations in the exposed, those that survived the infection became monsters. Most of the Cetra people died this way.

"The Cetra survivors called this creature the 'Crisis from the Sky.' They fought long and hard until the Cetra mage Ifalonoe trapped it in a geological stratum, most likely by means of a powerful quake like spell. There it remained until sixty-three years ago, when Professor Ivan Gast of Shinra found it in an outcrop north of Bone Village. He named the creature Jenova after the inscription above the creature. Three years later, after it had been falsely identified as an ancient, Shinra approved the Jenova Project. Their goal was to use the creature's cells to create an ancient.

"Jenova, however, was still alive, and had other plans. Twenty years ago, Jenova and Sephiroth tried to find the Cetra promised land, believing it over flowing with Spirit Energy. They believed that if they absorbed all the Spirit Energy there, he would become a god. Jenova failed and now it has returned to finish what it started over two-millennia ago. This is the true danger of Jenova.

"Ifalonoe could not destroy Jenova with the power he had, but he realized that someday his descendants would. To ensure this, he created two powerful relics. They were the White Materia and a sword that has only so far been identified as the 'Holy Sword,' because the rest of the tablet was missing. The Cetra legend goes that, 'when the hour of darkness comes, the last of our kin will fall summoning the great justice. But from this darkness, a descendent of Ifalonoe will come baring the wings of an angel and the curse of the dark one. He will rid our world of the great evil that destroys all existence. He will mend the broken soul of the Cetra, and he will be called Cetrae Angelus.' This 'Cetrae Angelus' is our only hope against Jenova, but who is he and does he exist?

"Yes he does, and he is here today. The legend states that he must be descended from Ifalonoe. Aeris Gainsborough was the last descendent of Ifalonoe, and was slain summoning Holy. Caden Strife was born after Aeris died, but is an Ancient. Jenova was referred to as the 'curse of the dark one' by some older circles Cetra nomads, and Caden also carries the lineage of Jenova. All the signs show that he is the Cetrae Angelus." The Assembly burst into a roar of voices as they debated the new revelations amongst themselves.

One of the members stood up to ask a question. "Your basing this whole 'Cetrae Angelus' on a legend, so how do you know he exists, no less your son?"

Cloud remained calm. "Faith. Twenty years ago, it was faith that save us all from Meteor, now it may be they only thing that will save us from Jenova."

The man was not content. "Well, how do we know that Caden won't go mad like Sephiroth did?"

Cloud was disturbed by the accusations of Caden's insanity presented to the Assembly. "Sephiroth went mad the moment he thought about his origins. Caden on the other hand came here willingly to disclose his unorthodox past to all of you. I doubt he has gone mad."

The man continued to rant, determined to undermined Cloud. "This is preposterous! Are we all just supposed to believe the some guardian angel will come and sweep away all the world's problems? What about the terrorists cells in Junon? Is your 'angel' going to do anything about that?"

Nanaki walked up to the podium. "Chairman Carrol, enough! I have seen much strange phenomenon in this world. Chairman Strife is right, we must act. Therefore the International Union's Security Council will be charged with the duty of preparing and executing a plan for combating Jenova. We may even find some link to the terrorists in Junon. I therefore declare Operation Fallen Phoenix re-opened. Unless there is anything else to discuss, the Assembly is adjourned." Nanaki moved from the podium, followed by Cloud and Caden. The rest of the Assembly filed out of their seats as well.  
  


Nanaki slowed down and waited for Caden. "Your speech went well today, Caden. I know that it was difficult, but you came through it. You should fell very proud."

"All I did was talk, nothing more," Caden said. He grew a little more serious. "But who was that man that kept attacking Father?"

"Chairman Carrol of the Security Council from Mideel. He has always been an outspoken proponent of Mako energy; one of only three Assembly members."

"Great, I get to deal with him next. He doesn't seem to like Father much does he?"

Nanaki sighed. "He was on duty the day WEAPON attacked Midgar. The same day we invaded it. Cloud broke Chairman Carrol's arm in the assault. It wasn't personal, but he never forgot it." Caden looked at Nanaki with a worried face. Nanaki tried to reassure him. "I wouldn't worry about it though. He'll follow orders because he knows that it's too dangerous not to."

"That explains his eyes." Caden stopped for a moment. "Do you think that I will be able to fulfill the prophecy, or is Chairman Carrol right?"

"Caden, never doubt yourself or the sacrifices of others. The only reason we exist is because of the faith and sacrifices of those before us."

"Like your father?"

"Yes… but how did you know?"

"Father told me when I doubted the old legends. It must have been two years ago when he found those tablets. I thought it was a fairy tale, not the prophecy that could save the planet. He told me that many people sacrificed themselves to protect the innocent, and that we all needed to believe in something. He told me about the sacrifices your father made protecting Cosmo Canyon."

"Your father is wise beyond his years now. During the war no one would have ever expected such words from him. They say that parenthood can change a man, so I guess the old saying is true." Nanaki solemnly bowed his head. "Thank you."

"For what?" Caden had not thought much of what he said.

"For reminding me what we are fighting for."

"Then I have to thank you for the same thing."

"Very well, but I believe you have an appointment now."

"Yeah... um... wish me luck." Caden began to walk away.

Nanaki watched as Caden walked away. "That boy may be our only hope. I just pray he doesn't forget."  
  


Caden entered a boardroom with a large table. He saw seven people standing by it, but no one sitting. He watched as Chairman Carrol sat down at the head of the table. "Everyone, please sit. We are now going to discuss the plans for Operation Fallen Phoenix. As you may already be aware, I really don't see any threat from this one creature, if it exists at all. However, this was not my call. Young Mr. Strife is here to address us on this… thing." Carrol's glowing amber eyes pierced through Caden as he entered.

"Thank you Mr. Chairman." Caden nervously eyed the council Chairman, but soon diverted his attention to the rest of the council. "As you were all just informed, there is a threat to this planet. From what I have seen and heard, the source of this threat may be emanating from the ruins of Midgar. There have already been reports of massive assaults by a well organized terrorist group on major cities and locations. This organization is using tactics and weapons that indicate some connection to the Shinra. Except there is one problem with that theory, the Shinra do not exist any more. This leaves one other theory open, someone from Shinra has returned, and has control of or is being controlled by Jenova.

"From the intel I gathered, the main body of the terrorist is commanded by a man named Lenox. I looked into it further, and apparently, Lenox was the general that succeeded Sephiroth in SOLDIER. He some how survived the attack by WEAPON, and now he's returned. Mr. Chairman, as he was your commanding officer, can you shed any light on our adversary?"

Carrol's eyes glowed softer upon hearing Caden. "Well… General Lenox was not what I would call a compassionate man. Under his command, SOLDIER became even more hard-lined and merciless."

"But wasn't Heidegger the commander of SOLDIER?" Caden asked knowing full well what the answer was.

Carrol continued. "Heidegger was a pencil pusher, Lenox was the one out there commanding the forces. He loved wars of attrition, no matter what side it happened to. Most likely, he'll keep the more seasoned troops closer to the back line, and throw the rookies in to fight first. The old cliche 'That which does not kill you can only make you stronger,' was his mantra. Don't underestimate him; he will not be a push over."

"So the question is, what do we do now?" Caden asked.

Some of the council members squabbled amongst themselves, until the Councilwoman from Junon spoke up. "Maybe we should try to get someone into Midgar, or a small force even. At least that way we'll know what's happening there. Right now, Junon forces are already surrounding the Midgar Ruins."

Carrol waited for the Junon representative finish. "Actually that may not be out of the question. Caden, will you lead the strike force?"

Caden was a little skeptical of the Chairman's sudden change of attitude towards him. "I don't know if I'm qualified to."

Chairman Carrol's demeanor did not change. "Your Musashiden title qualifies you beyond a doubt. Caden, if the legend of Cetrae Angelus is true, then you may be our best hope. I'm not saying I believe it at all or that you'll succeed, but we do need you in Midgar. Maybe you will find your phantom there."

Caden sat forward on his seat. "Then I will accept the mission."

"Good. Assemble your task force." Carrol stood up and walked over to a large map. It became clear to Caden that the Security Council had been working for a long time on a Midgar assault. "We will use an old diversionary tactic to insert Mr. Strife and his team. First, air strikes from Windwalkers and Highwind will weaken the perimeter defense network; the Nibel Air Force has already pledged their support in a Midgar assault. Second, heavy artillery strikes from the surrounding bluffs to throw off ground forces near the slum entrances. Third, Junon forces will take the entrances to the city that would ideally be abandoned by the terrorist. With luck, the terrorist will expect an urban assault in the Midgar slums. Finally, we will have a dummy air strike that will land Mr. Strife's task force in sector three of Midgar's Upper Plate. The task forces Windwalker will experience 'mechanical trouble' and 'crash' into the city. Caden, I assume you know how to operate a Windwalker."

"Yes, I'm certified to fly Windwalkers and Falcons. Now, will the Highwind will be the command ship for this mission?"

Chairman Carrol looked over at Caden. "Yes. As for your air boss, you will be under the command of Nibel Air Command directly."

Caden knew exactly what this meant, and who he answered to. "Rear Admiral Highwind?"

Carrol was a little surprised. "Yes, you know him."

Caden looked smugly across the room. "He's the one that taught me to fly."

Carrol looked at Caden with a questioning eye. "Is that so?" Carrol turned to the rest of the council. "If there are no other pressing issues, then the meeting adjourned. We will convene in two weeks to go over more detailed plans. I suggest that you all contact your governments and convene with them on Operation Fallen Phoenix." Chairman Carrol calmly walked from the room. He was soon followed by a couple of the council members. The rest of the members stayed behind to gather their materials and to talk among themselves. Caden did not wait for the rest of the members to leave, and so left himself.

Marlene was standing outside the boardroom. "So Caden, I here you're the one leading this suicide mission."

Caden turned to Marlene. "Psychotic yes, but not suicidal. You want in?"

Marlene looked at Caden questionably. "Not gonna give the same old line?"

Caden and Marlene started walking. "I need people I know I can trust, and I trust you. Besides, you already volunteered."

"Just the two of us isn't going to cut it. You'll need more people you trus… nooo. Don't even think about!" Marlene stopped and scowled at Caden. Caden wryly gave a half smile. "You just thought about it. You are not going to ask Bowden, are you?"

Caden tried to reason with Marlene. "Come on, he's not that bad. Anyway he was my roommate at the academy, and we only got into a little trouble that one time."

"You greased up a wild chocobo and let it run through the headmaster's office, twice!"

Caden scratched his chin. "Yeah, it really wasn't that funny the second time." Marlene looked at Caden with a stern face. Caden decided that the chocobo issue would not help him. "But I can trust Bowden in an emergency like this. Anyway there are only a few people who know as much about high explosives in Mako reactors, and we need to take out the eight Midgar Reactors."

Marlene shook her finger at Caden like a teacher scolding a student. "Alright, but no chocobos!"

"Ok, ok, now who else would be able to help?" Caden responded while trying not to break out laughing.

"There is some one you may want to meet." Caden and Marlene stopped and turned to see Nanaki behind them. "He lives in the southern province of Wutai near the abandoned lightning materia mines. You may need his help, but I wouldn't tell your father about what you find. It may be difficult for him to accept." Nanaki did not wait for an answer by either Caden or Marlene, but left the two to decide their next move.

Marlene did not know what to make of what just happened. "That was... odd. What do you think he meant?"

Caden stared off in the direction Nanaki left. "It means we're going to meet someone who may be a link to my past" Caden turned to face Marlene. "Well then, I guess we're on our way to Wutai. We better start tomorrow morning, though."


	5. Task Force WIND

  
  


Chapter 4: Task Force WIND  
  


"Mar, we've been riding for a while. Maybe we should let the chocobos rest." Caden looked down at Swift, who appeared ready to fall flat on his face.

"Not a bad idea; I could use a chance to stretch my legs. Look over there." Marlene was pointing towards a small creek. "We could rest by that stream." Marlene dismounted Aura, and walked the chocobo to the running water. The land around them was flat but rich. Off to the north they could see the dark rocky mountains from which the stream flowed. Around the water itself was some small brush and other plants. Marlene let Aura drink from the cool water while inspecting the local flora. "So how much farther do we have to go?"

Caden dismounted from Swift. "The Valentine Ranch shouldn't be more then a few kilometers away. Nanaki said there is someone living on his ranch that I have to meet, but we've known Vincent for years. He would have mentioned someone."

Marlene looked at a flowering plant. "So who do ya think it is?"

Caden breathed in the fresh mountain air. "Dunno, probably someone that had some part in the Jenova Project."

Marlene turned away from the plant she was investigating. "Like a researcher or a scientist?"

"Or another Jenovan." Caden began to walk towards the stream, but turned around when he heard a noise coming from one of the bushes. "What was that?"

"What?" Marlene looked around, but did not see anything unusual. "I didn't hear anything."

"A rustling sound coming from that bush." Caden's eyes began to burn brilliantly. He knew someone was preparing to ambush them. "Marlene! Get out of there!" Caden drew his sword and ran between one of the bushes and Marlene, just as a man jumped out of the brush wielding a two-meter long sword. Their swords struck with the loud sound of crashing steel. The man's eyes also burned with a fierce green fire. His face and general appearance seemed to mimic that of Caden.

Marlene slowly walked back while reaching for her bow. "Caden, it's-it's another clone?!?!"

"No, it's Sephiroth, the real Sephiroth!"

"So the it speaks." The man backed off and prepared to strike again. Caden did the same. "What is your number, clone?" Both Sephiroth and Caden traded blows with blazing speed. The two swords seemed to almost disappeared. The sounds of striking metal could no longer be heard as one clash followed by the next, but as one continual resonating ring. The power and force that both combatants embodied into their swords began to make them glow red.

"My name is Caden Strife!" Caden shouted as he continued his volley of strikes and blocks. The mood was very tense at that time. Neither swordsman wavered for even a moment, and strain could not be seen.

"Marlene? Nanaki told us you were coming. I take it that is Caden fighting with Sephiroth." Marlene turned around to see a man and a woman standing behind her.

"Vincent! Lucrecia! What the hell's going on here?" Marlene asked while nocking an arrow.

"Hold on, Marlene." Vincent looked out at the battle before him. Caden and Sephiroth still had their blades striking at incredible speeds. "Sephiroth is too controlled to do anything but restrain. As for Caden, well... the same."

Lucrecia looked worriedly at Vincent. "Aren't you going to do something?"

Vincent crossed his arms and relaxed despite the pending battle. "No, they'll eventually get tired"

Lucrecia stared deeply into Vincent, as if piercing through to he soul. "Think about who we're talking about. Both of them are have incredible stamina. They could fight there until Hell freezes over, and Heaven crashes to the earth. All without breaking a sweat."

"Point taken." Vincent lifted the rifle he had on his back into position, and aimed it between the battling swordsmen.

"Wait! Vincent, are insane!" Marlene yelled, but Vincent fired anyway. His single shot passed between Caden's and Sephiroth's blades. Both swordsmen turned their heads, but did not let down their swords.

"Alright, swords down on the ground, both of you!" Vincent was still aiming his gun. Both Caden and Sephiroth laid their weapons on the ground. "Now, that's better"  
  


"Unbelievable. So Jenova is still out there." Vincent couldn't believe it. Sephiroth just stood silently contemplating Caden's story. They were all in a small house as Caden explains the story, but something still made it feel as if they were in the open.

"So what's your story, Sephiroth?" Caden said with a sharp tone. He still felt a strong resentment towards the man before him.

"My story doesn't matter." Sephiroth, sensing Caden's resentment, began to turn away.

Lucrecia tried to stop her beleaguered son. "Sephiroth, they need to know."

Sephiroth stopped but did not make eye contact with anyone. "Twenty-five years ago, I was sent to inspect a Mako reactor on Mount Nibel. I took three enlisted members of SOLDIER, SOLDIER 1st class Zack Carradine, SOLDIER Garb Private Alexi Stiener, and SOLDIER Garb Sergeant 1st class Cloud Strife. Zack and I went into the reactor and found a number of pods filled with Mako. All of the pods had a monster in it that was once human. That is all but one…"

"Mine…" Caden sank back in his seat as he realized this.

Sephiroth sighed. "…Yes… yours. I did not take it very well at first, so I went to the Shinra Mansion to find out some of the details. Hojo used to keep a lab there and I figured that there would be something to shed some light on the situation. I found a secret basement in which the lab was kept, and records of all the experiments. The reports had more then I needed or wanted to know. Zack followed me down, but I told him to leave me alone. That was one mistake I wish I never made." Sephiroth leaned against the wall behind him. "Hojo found me reading the files on the Jenova Project. For someone that was only a laboratory experiment to him, he seemed glad I found his notes. Before I could say anything, he injected a near lethal dose of Mako into me. I fell unconscious.

"When I came to, I had no control over my body. Jenova had taken control; the creature that I was told was my mother. It used my body to murder the people of Nibelheim with no regard for their lives, to rescue it from the Shinra. It needed a puppet to free it, and because of my Jenova cells, I was that puppet. 

"I could see its thoughts then; Jenova was feeding off the planet. It was a parasite banished from its planet for feeding on Mako, and wondered interstellar space for years. Why do you think it was housed in a reactor?"

"Jenova forced me to the Mako reactor, continuing it's murderous spree. I nearly killed our guide and my colleagues, but Cloud was able to defeat me. I fell into the Mako well bellow, but something in the Mako somehow encapsulated me. I was frozen in time for fifteen years."

Caden became angry. "So you're saying that you were not responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent people, an-and that you weren't the one who murdered Aeris Gainsborough twenty years ago!?" Caden stood up and drew his sword.

Sephiroth smashed a nearby vase in his own fit of rage. "Professor Gast and Iflana were like parents to me while I was in SOLDIER, and Aeris…she was like a sister." Caden could see a tear forming in Sephiroth's eye, and let down his sword. Sephiroth bowed his head. "I vowed to Professor Gast that I would protect his family. I failed! First Iflana, because I could not fight off those grunts, and then Aeris… just because I was not there. Only a puppet in my image."

Caden stared deep into Sephiroth's soul. His eyes burned like green fire in a blast furnace. "Then how did Masamune kill her!?"

Sephiroth took the Masamune and slashed it Caden. The blade cut cleanly through Caden's neck. Marlene gasped as the sword move through its course, but it did not so much as scratch him. Caden was confused, but Sephiroth remained stoic as he returned his sword to its scabbard. "Masamune was made by Ifalonoe. It cannot harm an ancient, especially Ifalanoe's descendents."

Caden rubbed his uncut neck. He was still unconvinced "How am I supposed know if it just doesn't harm Jenovans?" Sephiroth answered by running his hand along the blade of Masamune. He raised his hand revealing a line of blood swelling from a long gash. Sephiroth clenched his fist of the wound to stop the bleeding. Caden said nothing, but relaxed from his tense posture.

Sephiroth continued. "Iflana gave me Masamune to wield and protect. She probably thought that I was the hope for this planet. I tried to live up to her hopes, but I'm no savoir. I did my best to try and keep Aeris safe, but I could only do so from a distance. She grew up in a safe home, enough to eat, and whenever I could, I left a little money with Elmyra. Aeris never knew I was watching over her. If she only…"

Caden was moved by Sephiroth's story. "It's not too late to make amends. You're alive; you can do so much good for this world. If your even half the soldier I've heard about, then you can still keep your vows."

Sephiroth was confused by Caden's sudden change of heart. "What are you saying?"

"Stop playing the wounded soldier and join us. The planet's dying, and Jenova's behind it. You said so yourself. "

"…I'll need a minute to think about this."

Caden calmly stood up. "Alright, we'll be outside." Caden and Marlene left the house. Vincent and Lucrecia remained with Sephiroth. 

Sephiroth slowly began to pace. "I think destiny has called me again." He turned to face Lucrecia and Vincent. "Mother, Vincent, thank you for everything, but I must leave. The boy was right; I may still have a purpose in this world. I am a soldier, I belong on the battlefield."

Lucrecia walked up to Sephiroth. "I hoped this day would never come. Ever since your father kidnapped you, I fell apart. My only child stolen from my arms, it was more then any one person can bare. I don't want to lose you again, Sephiroth."

"I will, Mother. Hojo can never again take me away from you."  
  


"Caden, are you crazy!?!?" Marlene hit Caden in the back of the head, and continued to pace. "You invited a psychopath to come with us? The man that burned down Nibelheim, and held the world hostage for nearly a year!"

Caden stayed as calm as usual. "I could sense it in him. He was telling the truth."

Marlene glared at Caden. "Don't go all Cetra mystic on me! He can't be trusted!"

"I say he can. He has the soul of a warrior, an honorable warrior. Besides, Masamune wouldn't allow him to harm Aeris, and I remember Father telling me how Jenova had gotten into his mind"

Marlene was still very much upset with the whole idea. "That, man nearly destroyed everything anyone held dear!"

Caden stood still as he tried to plead with Marlene. "It wasn't him. Mar, I need you to trust me on this."

Marlene finally stopped pacing, but she was still very much displeased. "You I trust; it's your predecessor I don't."

"I'll take that as an 'I'll trust you Caden.'" Caden tried to do what he thought was his best Marlene impersonation. Marlene couldn't help but smile. They stood their for a moment before Sephiroth left the house. Caden turned to face him. "So have decided to join us?"

Sephiroth adjusted the hooded cloak he wore. "I have some questions I need answers too, so I will go with you so long as the journey leads to the knowledge I seek."

"Then welcome aboard, Sephiroth." Caden turned to his chocobo, and thought about Swift's fascination with hair. "Oh, one more thing, watch out for Swift here. He might think you're me, and pull at your hair."

"What, him? He does not look like a vicious chocobo." Sephiroth scratched Swift's head, and the chocobo happily responded.

"What am I doing so wrong?" Caden reached for Swift too, but the young chocobo latched onto his hair. "Ow! Swift! Let go of my hair! Why does he only do that to me?"

"Ehh, you're just not good with birds." Marlene said as she innocently smiled.

"Ha ha… Ow! Swift!" Caden swatted his ponytail away from Swift's beak. After he regained control of his hair, Caden climbed onto Swift. "It's a long ride to Gongaga, so we better get going."  
  


The ride was quiet for a time. However, they were no more then an hour away from the Valentine Ranch when Caden had a question. It was one that has been bothering him since they had left. "Sephiroth... How did Vincent and Lucrecia find you?"

Sephiroth was bothered by the question. It was an issue he wished he could avoid, but he managed to answer anyway. "...After Hojo kidnapped me, Mother became reclusive. After I disappeared, she withdrew from society all together. Ten years later, Vincent found and convinced her to leave her hiding place. They married, and were happy until one day about five ten years ago.

"Mother heard about an expedition to the North Cave, and decided to join it. Still being a recognized scientific mind, the expeditionary organization granted her permission to join them. She believed she would find my remains, and have closure. However, what she found was me, encased in Materia after fifteen years. I don't know how, but her presence shattered the Materia, reviving me.

"Vincent objected to my miraculous return, but it was short lived. I finally had my mother, my true mother. I was told how my 'father' stole me from Mother, I've grown to resent him more because of it. Too bad he is already dead; I would have like to taken him out myself. I guess I will have to settle with carving out the still beating heart of Jenova."

Marlene rode up next to Caden to ask him a question. "What I want to know is, if Jenova was the true threat twenty years ago, then why and how was Sephiroth's image used? Also, why is Sephiroth the only one that can use Masamune?"

Sephiroth answered the questions. "Jenova has the ability to take the form of anyone it sees. Even the puppet had this ability to some extent, although Jenova itself would have to tell the puppet to. As to why, what better way to strike fear than the return of a dead mad man. Hardcore soldiers would me, but a phantom with an agenda wound petrify them. Finally Masamune, it was made from a piece of stone from Jenova's tomb. The residual cells make it difficult for anyone but a Jenovans to use."

Marlene was a little upset that it was Sephiroth, and not Caden, who answered her. "Well, at least that answers my question." Marlene continued, intending Caden only to respond. "So, we're off to get Bowden?"

"Yeah. Hopefully he's home." Caden began to think out loud. "Maybe if we used a nibel wolf instead of a chocobo the second time… I knew someone who had one on campus."

Marlene looked at Caden like a scolding teacher. "Oh no you don't, Caden! You are not plotting another greased animal prank… WAIT A MINUTE! Who had the wolf?"

Caden tried to keep from laughing. "Someone in advanced strategies."

Sephiroth closed his eyes as he contemplated Caden's. "Is that all? You are supposed to be the highest ranking student in your class, but act more like a child with nothing better to do." Caden said nothing as he sank into the saddle.

Marlene laughed under her breath. "At least you didn't have to live through it. Every other week they had some hair-brained scheme, and they usually worked."

Caden cheered up. "See, he won't disappoint us." Caden gripped the reigns tighter. "Let's ride on!"  
  


As they approached Gongaga, Caden remembered that Sephiroth was not going to be a welcome site. "Uh… Sephiroth, we may have a problem. You kinda… stand out. People still blame you for Meteor, so we need to disguise you... Any ideas?"

Marlene thought for a moment. "How about if Sephiroth tied his hair back like yours. It worked for you, Caden. We could... say you're twins."

Sephiroth turned his head. "I'm almost 60 as it is, not 25."

"But you still look in your late twenties," Marlene pleaded. "Besides, we don't have any thing else to work with."

Caden smirked. "Come on, I always wanted an older brother."

Sephiroth could not help but laugh at Caden's wisecrack. Caden and Marlene were shocked. From the stories they heard, Sephiroth was always serious. They quickly recovered from their disbelief, however. Sephiroth stopped and tied his hair back with a piece of string. " Alright, but my eyes will give it away."

"Don't worry about it, here's the solution." Caden pulled out a small case. "These lenses will dull the glow from your eyes. Just don't get agitated, or they won't work. Our eyes glow stronger as we become upset or angry."

"Light dampening lenses; interesting. This may work." Sephiroth took the case from Caden, and removed the lenses. He placed one in either eye. "They fit well."

Caden pointed to his eyes. "They should. I've been using them for a few years. Now if every one is ready, let's go." The three get off their chocobos, and walk into the city. Caden, in his usual "punctual" fashion realized Sephiroth's age. "Wait a minute! You're 60?!?!"

Sephiroth looked at Caden. "Yes. Jenovans don't age past the age of 30. Eternally frozen in the prime of life, but it does make me nothing more then a potential slave to Jenova. Such is the price for eternal youth."

Caden walked a little faster. "Always the cynic." Caden looked over his shoulder at Sephiroth. "Now, Sephiroth, we actually have to act like brothers, or this whole thing will fall apart."

Marlene stopped. "Uh… we can't exactly call Sephiroth by his name in public. Might panic some people. So how about if we called Sephy instead."

Sephiroth was silent for a moment. "…Never call me Sephy." There was a kind of sadness in the way he spoke; as if someone died.

"…Alright, sorry... I didn't know." Marlene understood why he reacted in that way. She knew Sephiroth lost someone close.

They walked into the small city confidently yet cautious. The town was so minute, that while entering it, they were able to see the other side of it. A tightly knit community that barely registered as a city, but it did come a long way. Twenty years before, it was practically dead, but now it was a small population center. The three walked halfway through the town, when they reached a small house.

Caden walked up to the door. "Well, we're here." A large brown-furred dog like animal came from the side of the house, a nibel wolf. "Hey! Lobo!" Caden cheerfully exclaimed as the beast approached him.

Marlene walked up to Caden. "That explains the smell in the dorms."

"No, that was the Sons of the Chocobo Order. They were trying to hide four or five chocobos last semester." Caden looked down at the animal before him as it began to growl. "Hey boy, what's wrong?" The wolf snapped at Caden's hand. Caden barley fast enough to pull his hand away.

"Lobo, stop it right now!" Lobo followed the command and ran behind the house. Everyone turned their heads towards the door, and in it was a young man. "Caden, didn't expect to see you in a backwater town like this."

Caden shrugged his shoulders. "Just in the neighborhood. How ya been, Bow?" He tried to stay as casual as possible considering the circumstances of the visit.

Bowden was skeptical of his friend's behavior. "Come on! You don't call half way across a continent in 'the neighborhood.' Anyway, I can't complain."

"So, what's with Lobo?" Caden asked as he looked over in the direction the wolf ran off in. Lobo was standing just around the corner, peeking his head out from the shadow of the house. However, he still stayed mostly in the shadows, like a scared puppy.

"Dunno. Been like this all morning." Bowden walked out of the doorway. "Gees, I'm be'in rude. Come on in." Everyone started to move. Caden and Marlene went in, but when Sephiroth walked up, Bowden stopped them. "Uh… Caden, what's going on here?"

Caden walked up to Bowden. "Bowden, old friend, you might need to sit down."  
  


"And I hope that's the last time I hafta give that story." Caden finished his story and looked over at his entranced friend. "Hey, Bow, you ok." Bowden's eyes were glazed over, and he sat like a statue in December. "Ooookkkkk, that's never happened before. Damn it, Barret was about ready to lead the charge. Hey, Bow, I need some sign of life here."

Bowden remained in is trance, but tried to utter some kind of response. "Uhhhh…"

Caden shrugged. "At least it's a start."

Bowden began to break from his gaze. "Y-y-you think you… know a guy, then he breaks it on you that he's a... science experiment."

Caden looked down at the floor while he scratched the back of his head. "Yes… uh… um… I prefer planned existence."

"...Right..." Bowden said as he had no other response. "So why me?"

"We need a explosives specialist, an expert in Mako Reactors, and someone I can trust," Caden said before taking in a deep breath. "Eight beat up old Midgar Mako reactors are up and running again. All this even after two were blown up, and all later knocked out by some big ass gun. We need someone to put them back to sleep, permanently. Who better then the idiot who stopped an adamantaimai with some well placed dynamite?"

"Hey, it kept it from ripping up the West Campus Fields didn't it!?" Bowden said, quick to defend his action. "Well I guess I'm in. When do we start?"

"Now. We have two days to get back to Cosmo Canyon for a briefing on the mission with Chairman Carrol…" Caden had a sudden epiphany. "Annnnd we only have two chocobos… so we gotta move fast."


	6. Revelations

Chapter 5: Revelations

  
  


It was the day of the Security Council meeting when Caden and the others arrived in Cosmo Canyon. They were tired from the long trek, but especially Bowden. Caden, despite his own fatigue, knew they had no time to rest. "We gotta hurry. The Security Council meeting is twenty minutes."

The four moved quickly through the International Union's headquarters, but barely made it in to the council room in time. They arrived in the conference room and took their seats just as Chairman Carrol entered. "Council to order. We are here to finalize the details for Operation Fallen Phoenix. Caden, is your task force ready."

Caden sat up. "Yes. All we need is an insertion point and a time frame."

Carrol seemed strangely pleased.. "Good, that's what I expected from a Musashiden." Carrol turned his attention to the council. "If anyone has any new insight, you may bring it to order now."

The Councilwoman from Junon slowly raised her hand in a gesture to gain the attention of her peers. "Junon Special Ops is reporting that there has been massive movement in the vicinity of sector three in the Midgar Ruins. Personnel are moving out of the other sectors, and banding west of Mako Reactor…" a ringing phone interrupted the Councilwoman. She answered a small phone that she was carrying. "Councilwoman Innara, What? …alright, yes. …how many? …alright, bye." Councilwoman Innara closed her phone and placed it on the table. "Ladies and gentlemen, that was Junon's Deputy Minister of Defense. Kalm has been invaded and is now being held by terrorist cells from the Midgar Ruins. Apparently they moved under the cover of darkness and took Kalm with little resistance. The Junon army is moving in to reinforce the Special Ops lines, and we expect little resistance in the city itself. We may have to rethink some of our tactics."

"I guess we'll need to change our landing plans," Carrol said. "The primary objective is bound to be in the central tower of Midgar. Recent recon missions show that the building has been repaired up to the 64th floor since Meteor fell. The best landing zones will probably be in sector six with a secondary at sector four. Remember, avoid sector five and seven; there's nothing left but rubble.

"As for the details on the campaign components. Wutai and Coral ground forces will reinforce Junon forces, with Mideel ground forces creating a barrier between the Midgar Ruins and Kalm. Before they take any actions, Windwalkers from FIRE and EARTH squadrons will commence bombing runs to soften up the forces near sector six. In the final phase WIND and WATER squadrons will make a dummy bomb run. WATER will be the cover, and WIND will be the delivery vehicle. After the reactors have been disabled and the terrorist threat has been neutralized, the strike force will return in the Windwalker.

"It'll take at least three weeks to assemble all military personal. Caden, have your strike force ready and waiting at Nibel Air Command in Rocket Town. You will be briefed completely there. Before we adjourn, are there any questions or ideas to be submitted?" Carrol asked, but there was only silence. "Good. Meeting adjourned." The members began to leave, but Caden and the others remained.

Marlene turned to Caden. "We have three weeks to get to Rocket Town, so… what now?"

Caden stared blankly into space. "There are a few things I need to know, so… I guess we're off to the City of the Ancients. I need to find out more about my Cetra heritage. Maybe even something that may help us."

"City of the Ancients?" Marlene asked. "But that's where…"

Caden interrupted Marlene. "Where Aeris died, I know, but there are a lot of things I still don't understand. There's some… 'things' there that may help."

Sephiroth sat in a very reserved manner, almost as if he were mourning. "…I don't think I should go…"

Caden laid his hand on Sephiroth's shoulder. "Come with us. You need some kind of closure."

Sephiroth brushed Caden's hand away. "What, am I just supposed to do, lay some flowers by the city's entrance and feel better? I let Professor Gast down. They are all dead because I let him down... …I don't know… maybe it is time I face my past again."

"Then you'll go?" Caden asked.

Sephiroth did not move. "Yes."

"Alright then," Caden continued. "After our little experience with the chocobo riding, it looks like we'll need something bigger. So here comes the fun part, convincing my father to let us borrow the buggy."

Bowden, with his normal intellect, thought of a solution. "Why don't we just bring him with us?" Caden looked right at him and then began to shift his eyes between Bowden and Sephiroth. It took Bowden a minute, but he got the idea. "Oh, right… my mistake. Well… I'm outta ideas."

"That's a relief," Caden tried to say under his breath, but was unfortunately over heard. Bowden glared at Caden, but Caden just brushed the look off. "Now how do we get it without revealing Sephi… Oh… shit!" Caden looked up to find Cloud in the doorway, and Cloud was beyond the state of anger. His eyes glowed like two blue flames, and focused like lenses on a book.

Cloud walked into the room. "You son of a bitch. How the hell could you still be alive? " Cloud reached his hand out to Caden. "Caden, your sword, now!"

Sephiroth stood, but took no other action. "Your fight is not with me. In fact, I owe you more then any one man can offer. You kept me from very well threatening all life for a thousand kilometers. Had I regained control of my senses, I would have field promoted you on the spot."

Cloud stared at Sephiroth with vigor and hatred. "Don't feed me that bull shit! I watched you burn my hometown! I watched you murder Aeris in..."

"I did not kill Aeris!" Sephiroth shouted, interrupting Cloud. Sephiroth began to break his stone appearance. "I would never, in my power, harm her."

"Then what did I see!?!? Did I imagine the pain, the years of emptiness!?!? No, I didn't! Do you expect me to watch you're illusions anymore!?"

"Do you want to 'watch' something?" Sephiroth, in one fell swoop, unsheathed Masamune and sent it through Caden. Caden sat still as Masamune passed harmlessly through him, and cleanly sheared the backrest off Caden's seat. Sephiroth continued as he returned the Masamune to it's sheath. "Masamune was made by an ancient, and made so it could not kill an ancient. Now listen, Sergeant, after you threw me into the bowels of the Mako reactor, I became frozen in materia for fifteen years. There is more to the story, but first I need to know that you will not try and kill me."

Cloud sat down in a near by chair. "I can't believe I'm swallowing this."

Caden walked between the two adversaries. "Maybe we should hear this story on our way to the City of the Ancients," Caden said calmly, but soon remembered the question at hand. "Uh… Father… can I borrow the buggy?"

  
  


It took three days from Asgard, but Caden and the others arrived in the ancient ruins. They were all tired except for Sephiroth, who was too absorbed in his thoughts to be exhausted. Bowden, though he appeared to be breathing through his stomach, broke the silence. "What…huff huff… a… huff… wasteland."

Caden turned to look at him. "Yeah, but in it's hey day, it was a sight to behold. Welcome, my friends, to the City of the Ancients. So, who wants to go sight seeing?" Marlene and Bowden stared at Caden in horror. "Ok, so sight seeing is out of the question."

Marlene looked straight at Caden. "Caden, how can you possibly have so much energy after that hike."

Caden smiled. "Not energy; just a little enthusiasm."

"Didn't you come here for a reason?" Marlene asked, trying to force Caden to calm down at least a little.

"Yeah, right, right. Follow me." Caden turned again and began to walk towards the cavern directly ahead of them.

The rest followed him, with Bowden taking up the rear. "I thought you joking about the sight seeing!" Bowden uttered in complete horror.

They walked until they reached the entrance to a cave. Caden turned around as the others filed in. "Make sure not to touch the crystals unless I say so. They're triggers to a trap." They walked a little further, and again stopped. Before Caden was the same glowing crystal that he had encountered before. He reached out and touched it, to all but Cloud's horror. All the crystals soon turned red, but Caden stayed calm. "Wait! It's me, Caden."

The cave reverted to normal again as Lifestream came pouring out. As it formed to together, it spoke. "You couldn't resist touching the crystal again."

Caden casually shrugged. "Ehh, you don't have a doorbell, and this was the only other choice. It worked, didn't it?"

The Lifestream finished forming into Aeris. Both Marlene and Sephiroth looked at the ghost before them in fearful awe, while Bowden froze like a statue in December. Aeris stood still while she looked over the group. "I see you brought some others, and… you!" Aeris stared through Sephiroth with an icy gaze, and reverted to her specter form ready to attack. "After all that you've done, you would dare come here again!?!?"

Caden tried to get between Aeris and Sephiroth, but Sephiroth held his hand up to halt Caden. "It alright. I need to take care of this." Sephiroth walked forward, but did not draw his sword. "Aeris, stop!" Sephiroth said remaining calm. "Think back to Midgar. Think back to the day you and your mother escaped from Hojo."

Aeris stopped as her memory played out. There was a lab with guards everywhere. She saw her mother, tying to hold strong. Aeris was no more then seven at the time. "Don't worry Mama. Sephy will save us." Ifalna turned and smiled at her.

A moment passed and Aeris heard the sound of gunfire in the distance. Soon after, she saw the blade of a long narrow sword coming from behind a corner. From around the corner a young man with long white hair under a SOLDIER's helmet carrying the sword. Young Aeris knew who was approaching. "Sephy's here to save us."

Sephiroth approached the glass test subject cells that held Ifalna and Aeris. He was wearing a SOLDER 1st class uniform, but wielded Masamune instead of the usual Shinra issued sword. "Ifalna, Aeris, stand back!" Sephiroth threw down his helmet, raised his sword. He struck the glass, shattering it. "Let's go. Reinforcements will be coming soon to see what happened. I can guarantee there will be top members of SOLDIER with them." Ifalna picked up Aeris and followed Sephiroth out of the lab.

The scene changed, and Aeris saw a train in the sector seven station the three had just gotten off. Aeris soon heard another voice. "After them! Don't let the Ancient get away!" Aeris saw five armed soldiers running towards them. Sephiroth ran forward to defend against them.

"Ifalna, stay back with Aeris." Sephiroth charged forward, and dispatched two of the soldiers. One of the remaining soldiers aimed his riffle at Sephiroth and fired a single round. The shot missed Sephiroth, but struck Ifalna in the stomach. Sephiroth turned as she fell to the ground. "Ifalna!!!"

The other two soldiers approached Sephiroth from behind and restrained him. "The Ancient's dead and we lost two men. Hojo's gonna waste us... ...Might as well bring in the traitor. Maybe we'll get ta keep our lives." They carried Sephiroth away.

Aeris remained with her dying mother, crying. "Mama, you'll be better. Look here comes someone to help. Mama, you can't leave me." 

Ifalna looked at her daughter. "Aeris, my sweet child, I will not be able to stay. I will soon return to the planet. Before I leave, take this." Ifalna took a small scarf with clear crystal bead and tied it to Aeris' hair. "I want you to grow up strong."

The woman Aeris approached them. "Hold on, and don't move. It will only make the bleeding worse."

Ifalna turned her head towards the stranger. "Thank you, but I'm not long for this world."

"Don't say that! You need to save your strength," the woman said, trying to stop the bleeding.

Ifalna's head fell softly to the ground again. "I don't have long… Please… take Aeris… somewhere… safe…" Ifalna died with those words.

Aeris began to cry harder. "Momaaaaa!"

"After I… dealt my captors, I returned to find Elmyra carrying you away from the train station." Aeris looked up from her dream like memory, to see Sephiroth before her. "I realized then that you would be happier with her then a renegade soldier. I did my best to keep the Shinra off of you, and made sure you were raised comfortably. I watched from a distance as you grew up."

Aeris took her human form again. "Se-Se-Sephy. But, how? Why…? Twenty years…?"

"I was never here twenty years ago. I was frozen in Materia." Sephiroth takes the Masamune out of its scabbard. "Caden, if you be so kind."

Caden walked up to him and just stood still. "Do it." Sephiroth took Masamune and slashed Caden down from head to toe, but was injured nowhere.

"Masamune can not kill an ancient. Ifalonoe knew the power of the sword he created. He also knew it could be used against him or his descendants, so he forged it with the Lifestream. Masamune has a soul its own, so it will never harm any Ancient. As for me, I vowed to protect you and Ifalna. I would never be able to harm you. Not even Jenova could force me."

Aeris looked blankly through the air. "Jenova... the fake…"

"It always had the ability to shape-shift. Twenty years ago, someone released the puppet, made from Jenova's wings," Sephiroth tried to explain. "It was able to remember my form from five years earlier, and so copied it. From what I heard, it was not that bad of a copy. But the true Jenova is still out there… somewhere…"

Marlene tapped Caden on the back. "Didn't you come here for a reason?"

Caden turned to Marlene. "Yeah, right." He turned again to Aeris. "I need to learn... learn about the Cetra. Legends, stories, hell, even what time I should wake up on Sundays. The point is, I want to know more about... well... me."

Aeris looked at Caden. "I figured that's why you came." Aeris froze for a moment, as she sensed a new presence. "Every one, follow me. You too, Cloud." Aeris turned and began to move, and everyone followed her. They walked into the large shell building just outside the cavern. "Caden, you know what to do."

Caden walked up to the image of a fish. As he did this, the fish disappeared, and was replaced by a long staircase. "Shall we go?" The group followed Caden as he descended into the depths of the Crystal Shrine, even the reluctant Cloud. Caden looked back and saw the fish return above him.

As before, Aeris was already waiting at the bottom of the staircase. "You will all be safe here. Now, Caden, what did you want to know?"

Caden leaned against a railing, and crossed his arm. "Everything I can. I want to learn about the Cetra. I want to learn who I where I come from."

"Well, this might take a while," Aeris said before beginning her story. "Long ago, the Cetra were a nomadic people. They wondered place to place, never staying long. They lived off the planet, so they would never harm it. In time, the planet began to speak to them, and share its knowledge. They loved the planet, and the planet loved them. Then, it came.

"The Cetra watched as a small planet crashed north of their only city; this city. Days latter, the first of the Cetra villages came in contact with him. They welcomed him believing he was the reincarnation on their ancestors. He promised peace to them, but he betrayed them. It moved on, from village to village, leaving a trail of monsters and innocent blood.

"The Cetra began to call him the 'Crisis from the Sky;' Jenova in their language. By the time he reached this city, word had already spread about his lies. Mages lined up to fight, but were not immune to Jenova's virus. One mage fighter escaped, and fought Jenova alone. His name was Ifalonoe.

"Ifalanoe cast a spell that trapped Jenova in stone, knowing he could not destroy him. It was decided that because Ifalanoe survived this encounter, his descendants would be the only one able to finally defeat Jenova. To ensure this, he created the White Materia from the Lifestream of his fallen comrades. Unfortunately, the distorted Lifestream from Jenova's virus created another materia, the Black Materia. The magic of the two were opposing forces, and together annihilate each other. If the two materia came together, they would destroy each other in the same way.

"Ifalanoe also created from the very stone that imprisoned Jenova, a sword of immense power. It was made in such a way that would mean Jenova, or someone immune to him, were the only ones able to wield it. This lead Ifalanoe to create it with a soul of its own, so it would never kill without reason. Created to destroy Jenova, it became known as the holy sword, but Ifalonoe named it Masamune.

"Ifalonoe entrusted his eldest son with the materia and the Masamune, to protect them from the hands of Jenova. Though trapped, it continued to cause pain and misery. The wild beasts created by Jenova, terrorized all of civilization. Ifalonoe's descendants fought these beasts to protect what was left of the Cetra people. While they wielded Masamune, they were never able to use the White Materia. Sadly, his line would be the last of the Cetra."

Caden stared with eyes wide open. "…Wo… That explains a lot ." 

Aeris continued. "I was finally able to summon Holy with the White Materia, but I died in the before the summon reached it. I was never strong enough to make a difference though. When Holy started to move, the planet was there to strengthen its power. The entire Lifestream came to Holy's aid, shattering Meteor. But Caden, you are stronger then any of your ancestors. When the time comes, Holy will obey you. It will become your wings."

Caden stood vacant, trying to absorb what Aeris said. He tried to step back, but the railing stopped his retreat. "I... this... this is all way too much..." Caden drew a deep breath, and collected his thoughts. "I'll do it," he said while he looked into the eyes of all his companions.

A hard epiphany came Sephiroth as he pondered Aeris' words himself. After all the years he wielded the Masamune, he knew it was no longer his place to carry the ancient blade. Hesitantly, Sephiroth pulled the Masamune's scabbard from his belt, and solemnly held it blade up in front of him. "Caden, take the Masamune. It is obvious that you must wield it."

Caden, seeing the hesitation in the man before him, waved his hand once towards Sephiroth. "If were supposed to wield the Masamune, I would probably have it already. Besides, it's almost like a part of…" Caden stopped abruptly and looked the stairway.

Marlene looked at Caden. "Caden, what's wrong?"

Caden stood still, staring at an unseen target. "He's here."

"Who?" Marlene asked.

"Jenova," Caden said as he drew his sword. "Sephiroth, can you sense him?"

Sephiroth squinted as he returned the Masamune to his belt. "Yes, I can." He drew his sword as well.

Aeris moved between Caden and the stairway. "Stop! He can't find us down here. Just calm down; I'll go see what is going on. Stay here where you're safe." She formed into the Lifestream and disappeared. She was not gone long. "There are six men up there. Five are armed, but the other is going out of his way to stay in the shadows."

Caden was still staring up the winding staircase as if he were in a trance. "That must be him. Mar, Bow, watch Sephiroth and me. Jenova may try and use us. If it comes down to it, you may have to kill…"

Aeris interrupted Caden. "That may not be necessary. Jenova lost all control of any cell outside of its body, when Cloud destroyed Jenova's influence in his mind."

Cloud turned around to look at Aeris. "Then it was…"

Aeris smiled. "I was laughing." Cloud shuttered as he realized it was Aeris who had sent him to face his greatest fear and hatred. Aeris looked straight at Cloud. "I made you realize there was something let to fight, and you defeated it. It was a good thing too. If you didn't fight it, you would still be Jenova's puppet." Cloud did not respond, but he understood what Aeris was saying.

Caden relaxed and turned to face everyone else. "So, what do we do about them?" he said, unsatisfied with a sit and do nothing tactic.

Sephiroth sat down on a step. "Relax. It won't take them long to search the entire city. Also, since this part of the city is under a 'pond,' they will not even know it is here."

"I hope, for all our sake, you're right. The last thing we need is a fight in such close quarters..." Caden turned around and looked down at the altar that had once held the White Materia. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Everyone looked over the banister to where Caden was staring. What they saw was the old bloodstain, but instead of lying dormant like it had for twenty years, it began to flow again. Sephiroth held Masamune ready, as if he expected something. "It is one of Jenova's guardians. Jenova had three Sentries that also acted to lead the enemy from finding him, Fenir, Jormungand, and Hel. I don't know which one this is, but I guess we'll find out soon."

A creature grew from the stain on the floor. As if a massive ooze had grown from the earth, it sprung up and formed into the image a very large wolf. Its fur was thick and as black as night, but twice as dreadful. Broken chains formed around its neck as if it were a caged animal, and its clawstore into the stone of the altar. It foamed at the mouth like a rabid dog, and its eyes glowed with an unholy glow.

Sephiroth stepped back into a ready stance as he watched the creature find its footing. "It is Fenir."

Fenir looked up and howled a blood cuddling sound. Caden turned towards the stairway that led to the altar. "Now, that we need to take care of." Caden began to run towards the altar. "Who's coming?"

Sephiroth and Marlene followed Caden. The three ran down the stairs to confront the beast. They stopped right in front of the towering creature. Each had their weapon drawn, ready to attack. Caden struck first, as he slashed Fenir's neck. The wound immediately healed. "The Hell!?!? It healed!"

"Child..." a small and distant voice said, but Caden did not respond.

Marlene nocked an arrow, and aimed it at the monster's heart. She fired, and struck her target. The beast again healed immediately. "Shit!"

"Child, use the Materia," the distant voice called out, but Caden ignored it again, as he focused on the battle.

Sephiroth tried to slash across Fenir's body, but the beast dodged the attack. The Masamune was left with nothing to stop it. The Masamune continued on its arcing path, and passed through Marlene. 

Caden turned around just as Masamune moved from Marlene. "Marlene!"

Sephiroth feel to his knees as he regained control of Masamune. Sweat began to run down his face, and he began breathing hard. "What have I done?" a panic stricken Sephiroth asked himself.

Marlene looked down at where she thought Masamune slashed her, but there was no wound. "Wha-what happened?" Marlene asked, veiled in fear.

Caden, although relived that Marlene was unharmed, did not stop and question what happened. "Questions later, we have to deal with thing first," Caden said, still shaken by the ordeal. "Focus on taking out Fenir for now."

"Child, the Materia glows," the distant voice again tried to speak to Caden.

This time Caden payed attention to the mysterious voice. He looked at his sword, and saw what looked like light moving between the two White Materia. "I understand," Caden said quietly to himself. While Caden's focus was strained, Fenir took the opportunity to strike Caden with one of its gigantic claws. Caden was knocked to the ground hard. Caden wearily stood up again. "Hey, Mut! Time to go to the pound!" Caden said taunting Fenir.

Marlene, unhappy with Caden's timing for his humor, backed away from the snarling beast he insulted. "Caden, didn't we discuss insulting things trying to kill us with cheesy lines?"

"Yeah, well I didn't have a clue how to waste the Slavedriver. I have something now," Caden said as he began to attack Fenir. "Holy!" Caden exclaimed. On command, his sword began to glow blue. When he swung the blade, a blue trail followed its path through Fenir. The beast howled out in pain as it fell limp to the floor. The unholy glow in its eyes was extinguished, and it began to turn to dust. Caden relaxed his arm, but watched from the corner of his eye as the two White Materia formed into one again.

Caden relaxed as the White Materia returned to normal. Marlene and Sephiroth also relaxed, staring at Caden as if he had performed a miracle. From a distance, Caden could see Bowden and Cloud in the same state of shock. Aeris, however, remained calm. Caden sheathed his sword and turned around. "Jenova's leaving. His sentry fell, and the White Materia is restored. There's no reason for him to stay." The three returned to where Cloud, Bowden, and Aeris were. When they were back with the others, Caden turned to Marlene. "Now the question is, what happened back there? Masamune is unable to harm any Cetra, so Marlene, is there something you want to tell us?"

Marlene stuttered, "I-I don't know... A sword just cut me in half, but... a sword didn't cut me in half..."

"I may have an answer for that," Aeris said hesitantly. "When I first met Marlene, she sounded like she was talking to herself. I thought then that she had an imaginary friend, but realized pretty soon that she heard the same voices I did." Aeris faced Marlene. "You were sitting alone in a corner, and whispering. When you turned around, you didn't seem all that afraid. In fact the first thing you said was 'Tifa asked you to save me.' I knew then that you were an Ancient, and that meant you would be in danger. I never told anyone."

Marlene stepped back until she backed into a wall. Marlene was filled with fear as she sat on the floor. "...What is this supposed to mean...?"

"'Nothing more then what has already been,' I think was Arlyn's quote," Caden said, trying both to calm down and cheer up Marlene. He offered his hand to help Marlene up.

A smile began to creep across Marlene's face, and she began to calm down. "You had to quote Loveless, didn't you?" Marlene asked as she grasped Caden's arm.

Caden helped Marlene to her feet. "It works, doesn't it?" Caden asked while smiling warmly. "Now, are you alright?" Caden asked, but with sadness in his voice. The ordeal had reminded him of when he was told of his heritage.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Marlene said, but noticed Caden's sudden change in mood. "Caden, what's wrong?"

Caden pondered the question. "…I think I need to do something else first. I don't know if I can though." Caden stood silently.

Marlene knew what Caden was talking about. "Mako Reactor one…"

Caden stood still, staring down at the floor before him. "Yes. I need to see where it all began."

"You know you won't be alone," Caden looked up at Marlene. Marlene smiled as she continued, "I'll be there."

Bowden followed suite. "So will I."

Cloud stood where he was, but faced Caden. "Always have been."

Caden faced Sephiroth. "So what about you?"

Sephiroth thought for a moment, trying to find words of meaning. Mako Reactor One was a source of grief for him as well. "It will not be easy, but I will be there with you."

Caden was moved by the support he received from everyone. "Thank you, everyone," Caden said as he solemnly bowed his head. "Then we better get moving soon."

Aeris move to intercept Caden as he walked towards the stairway. "It's getting late. Maybe you should spend the night here. Besides, that fight must have worn you out. The old house east of here is should be comfortable."

"Ok, I guess we will. Thank you." Caden walked up the stairs, and the rest followed.

  
  


Caden looked out upon a metropolitan wasteland; very little remained but scattered debris and stone. He thought to himself as he walked through the baran and deserted streets, where am I? He looked up at a very tall building. The remains of a platform lay fifty meters away from the rest of the structure, or so he thought. He gazed up at what must have been the 67th floor at one time. What he saw looked human, but it had bluish flesh and long icy hair. Its eye's were like a serpent's, but they burned a bright yellow. The creature wore a dark cloak like robe, but its most distinguishing feature were four large ominous dark colored wings protruding from it.

From the distance Caden could see the creature's glowing yellow eyes and sadistic smile, as if it were expecting him. Its face appeared ancient, as if death had visited it a thousand times over. He thought to himself, what monster is this? The creature leaped from the building, but did not freely fall. It glided upon its monstrous wings down to the front of the building. Caden caught a glimpse of an old electric sign next to where the creature landed. Shinra? Then this is… Midgar.

After the creature regained its footing, it approached Caden slowly. "What do you have to say now, boy? You see me for what I am. Now, are you ready to join me?"

Caden moved his hand to draw his sword, but it was not his. Somehow the Masamune had replaced, but was equipped with the White Materia. "No." Caden raised the Masamune over his head. A blue mist like energy flowed out and surrounded Caden, as his eyes began to burn brightly with green fire. The mist that surrounded him formed itself into six magnificent white wings. Caden unfolded his new wings, and lowered the Masamune and held it before him. "I will end your existence."

  
  


Within that instance, Caden awoke from his dream. He got up from the bed he laid in, took his coat, and left the conical house silently trying not to wake the others. Although with Bowden's snoring, Caden saw it as a wonder anyone was asleep. Outside, he sat down on some rocks, and stared up at the night sky and wondered. There are so many stars, but where do I fit in? His thought haunted him for a minute, but then he thought about his dream. What was that thing, and why did it call me 'boy'? …Maybe I've just been working too hard, but I need to know if that dream meant anything.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Caden looked down from sky to see Aeris before him.

Caden smiled a little. "Do you even sleep?"

Aeris silently laughed to herself. "I don't need too."

Caden also laughed, realizing the error of his question. "Right, right. Lifestream."

Aeris refocused on her original question. "So what's troubling you?"

Caden relaxed. "A dream, and a hell of a lotta questions from it. There was some sort of creature in it. It had almost blue flesh and four large dark wings. Other than that, it looked kind of like me…"

Aeris seemed withdrawn. She knew what the creature was. "Jenova…"

Caden remained calm. "So what I saw… was Jenova; the true Jenova. How am I supposed to beat it?"

Aeris looked at Caden with warm eyes. "Your wings will carry you through battle. Caden, the only reason it has not already destroyed the planet is because Holy prevents it from happening. He has been working slowly, and will work slowly until he is complete. He's not far from his goals as it is. Caden, be strong. You are the only one that can defeat him. Never forget that."

"I won't forget," Caden said, holding onto Aeris' words.

"And if you still wonder where you fit in, just remember, you've already found it."

"I think I know what you're talking about. Thank you," Caden said, as he got up and returned to the house.

Aeris stayed behind. "Caden's this planet's last chance. He will do fine."


	7. The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 6: The Calm before the Storm

  
  


Where am I? Wait… those stairs… I'm in the Crystal Shrine, but how? Caden looked around his surroundings. He could quickly confirm being in the Crystal Shrine, but something seemed different. "I must have been sleep walking… Wait a minute… who's down there?" Caden looked down and saw two people by the altar, except the White Materia's pedestal was missing. He looked closer and saw that one of the two figures was Cloud, but the other was, "Aeris?" Caden began to wonder. I can't see through her like before. It's like she's alive again.

  
  


Cloud looked down at Aeris as she prayed. No! Not again! Not this nightmare! Why? Unlike all the other times, Aeris did notice him. She looked up at Cloud, but it was too late in the memory to do anything.

  
  


Caden watched the two figures, who seemed to move little at all. However, something caught his eye at the top of the stairway. Who is that? Sephiroth? I wonder if he followed me down… Wait, that's not Sephiroth. Caden could see the mysterious man's eyes, they weren't human. The man's eyes had something almost evil about them. The man walked to the railing of the stairway. Caden looked down again, and saw Aeris completely unaware of the danger over her. No! He's going after Aeris! Caden began to run up the stairs, but the man saw him. He turned and gave a sadistic grin, and jumped. "NO!" Caden yelled. He could only watch from his lofty position as the man fell, sword pointed down.

  
  


Cloud could only stand still as he watched the shadowy figure descend. A phantom from a past he wished he could change. With sword posed in position, he fell.

  
  


Caden turned away as the man's sword pierced Aeris. He began to run down the staircase even though he knew he was too late. He arrived next to Cloud as the shadow man pulled his sword away, dripping with blood.

  
  


Both Cloud and Caden woke up in a cold sweat, and soon realized they both held something. They looked down at their hands to find Caden's scabbard and sword. Cloud let go immediately, but Caden did not. Instead, he removed the blade from it's covering, and looked at the White Materia. It was glowing brightly at first, but it soon dulled to its normal clear color. "The White Materia… It was glowing. It had to have something to do with that dream," Caden said to himself.

Cloud got up from his bed and looked at Caden. "What dream…?"

Caden tried to recall the nightmare he had just endured. "It was… disturbing to say the least. I was in the Crystal Shrine, and Aeris was there. A living Aeris. Then there was this man that looked like Sephiroth, but he had eyes were strange. Almost unhuman. He jumped off a ledge, and drove his sword…"

"…Into Aeris," Cloud interrupted. "…It's the nightmare that has haunted me for twenty years… since that day…"

"…Is that how it… is that how it happened?" Caden asked in dismay.

"…Yes… but how did you…?" Cloud was confused. "I had the same dream…"

"The materia…?" Caden said as he inspected his sword and at the once glowing materia on it. "We both woke up with it in our hands, and the materia… was glowing. …I think the planet wanted me to know." Caden put his sword away and looked around at the empty beds around him. "Hey, where is everyone?"

"They're probably around somewhere. Sephiroth didn't even take his cloak," Cloud said, pointing at the black cloak neatly laid on a chair.

Caden looked at the cloak. It was just a simple hooded wool cloak, nothing unusual about it. "His cloak was different in the dream. He had steel plates on either shoulders, and it wasn't hooded."

Cloud pondered Caden's words. "Strange… so much detail from a dream that wasn't your own."

Caden was silent for a moment. He looked at his sheathed sword and wondered how the materia forced two minds to endure the same nightmare. Both he and Cloud took their coats, and left the building without saying anything else.

  
  


They didn't have to search very long, as Sephiroth and Bowden were near the entrance to the crystal shrine. Sephiroth was bringing pails of water to the flowerbeds, and Bowden was by the lake dipping his hands in so he could wash his face. Aeris appeared next to Bowden. "Good morning everyone." Bowden gave out a loud scream, and crab-walked away from water faster then Caden had ever seen.

Caden stepped out of the cavern. "Come on, Aeris, you can't scare the crap out of Bowden on an empty stomach. You gotta wait until at least after he's had something to eat. "

Bowden fell on his back after stopping. "Sure, scare the crap out of the explosives expert why don't ya!"

Aeris laughed a little. "It's what I do."

Caden walked up to Bowden and helped him up. "Come on, Bow. A couple of years and a giant turtle don't make you an expert. You're more like a 'damn good' explosives specialist." Bowden shrugged off Caden's comment. Caden again examined the surrounding area, and realized that someone was missing. "Hey, Where's Mar?"

Aeris pointed towards the building behind Caden. "Marlene went down into the Crystal Shrine a while ago. She wanted to think some things through."

Bowden kicked some dirt in front of him. "Yeah, I tried to follow her, but I tripped over that big floating fish."

Caden began to walk towards the door of the building behind him. "Well, I'm going down to see what she's up to." Caden walked through the door, but turned around again and glanced at Bowden. "Oh, Bow, watch out for the fish."

  
  


Marlene sat on the altar of the Crystal Shrine looking at her reflection in the water below. She was deep in thought, holding the pendent she had carried with her for most of her life. Papa, why didn't you tell me? She broke from her trance like state with the sound of footsteps approaching. "Caden, what's wrong?"

Caden stopped right behind her. "How did you know it was me?"

"Only you, me, and Aeris can come down her alone, and Aeris doesn't have footsteps." Marlene smiled a little. "Besides, you have a very 'unique' footstep."

Caden looked at his boots, and the metal trim on the outer curve of the sole. "I guess so," Caden said as he sat next to Marlene. "So what's on your mind?"

Marlene jingled her pendent in her hand. "Just wondering why I was never told about this before." Marlene looked at Caden. "I made a fish disappear. That's not normal."

Caden shrugged. "And a giant floating fish is?" Caden asked, with a slight laugh. His face grew serious again. "I've known about my heritage for about two months, and mine's stranger."

Marlene looked at Caden with utter amazement. "But how do you deal with it?"

"Faith… and the occasional prank." Caden wryly smiled for a moment, then relaxed again. "But really, it's faith. Even when I face my past, it's my faith that will keep me going."

Marlene looked at Caden with concern. "You mean our little side trip from Rocket Town?"

Caden looked up at the Crystal Shrine's ceiling. "…Yeah." Caden bought his attention back down to Marlene. "Before we go to Midgar… I need to face it. We're going after something that holds the final key to my past. I need to know I can face it."

"…That's why we're going," Marlene said with a caring tone. "Remember, we're with you."

A smile began to creep across Caden's face. "Thanks Mar."

Marlene smiled as well, but her attention soon shifted to the pendent in her hand. "I've been hearing voices since I was four. Papa always said I had an over-active imagination. Guess I was wrong." Marlene tried to …I never knew my mother… She died when I was a baby… and my father… my real father died because of the Shinra. Papa tried to save him, but… That's how he lost his arm…"

Caden put his arm around Marlene shoulder in support. "Maybe this is something we shouldn't talk about just now."

Marlene shook her head. "No… I need to." Marlene looked at Caden. "You're able to talk about who you are, even when Sephiroth's around… What am I suppose to do if I can't talk about my past."

Caden continued to hold Marlene as he responded. "I have my own struggles to deal with… You can't compare your's to mine. Our situations are very different."

"Not as much anymore." Marlene said as she began to smile again.

Caden smiled as well. "Yeah, you're right. Both Cetra without a clue to what it really means." They both laughed, their spirits lightened. "You think everyone's waiting for us? I did leave my father and… Sephiroth… alone… with… Boooh shit!" Caden stood up and began to move towards the stairs. "We gotta move quick!" Marlene followed Caden out of the Crystal Shrine.

  
  


When Caden and Marlene reached the others, they did not find Cloud and Sephiroth with their swords at the other's throat. What they found was the two talking, calmly. Caden, though thoroughly confused, listened as Cloud presented a question to Sephiroth. "So how many inactives are there?"

Sephiroth thought for a second. "One, maybe two hundred, but it is the actives that have the worst problems. Luckily there are only six of us… that I know of. …Mother has the worst case I've seen though…"

Cloud did not look at Sephiroth, but asked, "How advanced is her case?"

Sephiroth looked down at dirt by the rock he sat on. "She is almost like him."

Cloud became concerned with were the discussion was leading. "What's she using to keep from converting completely?"

"This," Sephiroth said as he pulled a small vile from his shirt pocket. There was a small amount of a strange green gel.

Cloud stared at it in fearful awe as he gazed at the material, feeling that it was what he feared. "Mako?"

"No, it is a chemical that carries a small electric charge," Sephiroth said as he returned the vile to his pocket. "According to Hojo's reports, Jenovans react to Mako in the same way an animal reacts to food. It is like Jenova cells feed off of it. This gel mimics the proporties of Mako, but it also slows the growth of the cells."

Cloud was still skeptical, but softened his criticizing glare. "How did you figure that out?"

"I didn't just spend the last ten years reading old files on the Jenova Project for to pass time. My mother was a researcher, and the man who actually raised me was the most renowned scientist on the planet," Sephiroth said slightly arrogantly. "I did research. …Even though I've only been doing research for ten years, I'm already a better chemist then Hojo ever was."

Caden walked up to Sephiroth. "You seem to put Hojo down a lot considering he's…"

"…My father," Sephiroth interrupted. "He was the one who told me my mother was Jenova, and thanks to his psychotic experiments my mother is even like that thing. Some father."

Caden still had questions. "Wasn't it Professor Gast's project though?"

"Professor Gast never wanted Mother to be used like a lab rat, but Hojo did it anyway," Sephiroth said with anger. It was not directed at anyone there, but the feeling was all the same. "Professor Gast stopped the project when I was thirteen. He stayed with Shinra doing other research on Jenova, but Hojo continued the Jenova Project against Professor Gast's orders. They both knew then that Jenova was alien."

"How did he know that Jenova was alien?" Caden asked.

Sephiroth looked at Caden. "It is amazing what you will believe with a sword at your neck." Caden stood still, confused. Sephiroth tried to clarify. "…Ifalna held Masamune before me, remember. Her family had guarded Jenova for generations, so when it disappeared, she followed."

Caden was still confounded, but this time for a different reason. "How do you know all this?"

"I was there that day," Sephiroth said with a slight laugh. "It was the only time that Ifalna and I ever fought... I was reminded many times in my crystal prison, because the spirit energy that encapsulated me was…"

Aeris interrupted Sephiroth. "…Mom."

"…Yes, She and your father kept me in sort of conscious stasis. We could see outside the shell, but not react to it." Sephiroth's voice had a sense of sadness to it. "They kept me safe for fifteen years… by becoming materia… Ifalna once told me that materia was not the end, just another phase. One that can be reversed, but only if the spirit energy is prepared. After I was freed, the materia reverted into spirit energy and returned to the planet."

Caden, still struck by many questions, spoke up again. "So what would cause spirit energy to become materia without being prepared."

Sephiroth peered through the cavern's exit. "By being forcefully extracted, condensed, and processed into Mako. It is then condensed further to produce materia."

"All the more reason to get this over with as soon as possible," Caden said, trying not to push the subject any further.

Sephiroth, however, had not finished. "It gets worse. The planet's consciousness is in the Lifestream. If there is no free moving spirit energy in an area, then the land dies. If the event is global, the planet can not hold itself together. It literally crumbles into rock."

Caden was silent, because he had too many questions to ask. He decided to avoid badgering Sephiroth, and instead noted the time. "We better get going soon. It'll probably take us all day to get to Bone Village."

Aeris approached Caden. "Before you go, there is something else I need to tell you."

"What?" Caden asked, a little surprised that Aeris had forgotten something.

"You may come across some of your ancestors in the future," Aeris said. Caden was too confused to say anything, so Aeris continued. "When the spirit energy of a descendent of Ifalonoe becomes materia, it is always summon type materia."

Caden took his pendent into his hands, and looked into the green orb resting in it. The glyph of summoning and the image of a serpent shone through the sea of green. "I wonder who I've been carrying around with me."

Aeris gazed at Caden's materia, like she knew who was contained in the green jewel. "You will find out, soon enough."

Not entirely satisfied with Aeris' response, Caden turned and faced the entire party. "Well everyone, we better get going."

  
  


It had been three days since Caden and his party left the City of the Ancients when they arrived at the foot of Mount Nibel. Caden looked up at the summit of the lumbering behemoth before him. The mid-day sun rested over a set of stone spires like a beacon. Below that, he saw the destination they sought. "Mako Reactor One… this is where it began," Caden said melancholically.

Cloud walked up behind Caden. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Caden turned around, and tried to smile. "I need to… If I can't face this, my offensive is gunna be the shortest one in history."

The group made their way up the mountain. It didn't take nearly as long as Caden had first anticipated. Only an hour had passed between the start of their hike and their arrival. Caden began to walk up the stairs that led into the reactor building unsure of what he would find. He approached the door and turned around. "Well, anyone coming, or am I going in alone." The others followed Caden as he entered the relict of the Shinra's dominance. It was dark, as there had been no power generated for fourteen years. "It's a good thing we brought those lanterns." Caden removed the lantern that he had placed inside his coat, and lit it.

Marlene looked into the now dimly lit chamber before her. "So this is what a Mako Reactor looks like," Marlene said in awe.

Bowden also peered through the broken darkness, but was not as awe struck. "Eh, doesn't look nearly as impressive as the Junon or Midgar reactors."

Marlene turned around and looked at Bowden as if he had just feigned expertise. "And what would you know about Mako Reactors!?"

Bowden let a cocky smile creep across his face. "It's been a hobby of mine for a while now." Bowden began to look a little more somber. "My dad was in SOLDIER Garb and use to guard the Junon reactor. He was restationed to the front lines when WEAPON attacked… He died in the first wave… I never knew him. My mom decided that she needed to get out of Junon after that; so we moved to be closer to my grandmother in Gongaga… The reactor ruins still stand like some techno-ghost left by the Shinra."

"…Sorry… I didn't know," Marlene said apologetically.

Bowden shook his head. "No need to apologize, there's no way you would've known…" Bowden said. "We better keep moving."

Caden led the group down to the gantry below. He began to walk along it, but realized the silence around him. "Sephiroth, you've been awfully quiet."

Sephiroth did not respond immediately. "The last time I was here, I learned everything about my family was a lie, then used as a puppet by my so-called 'mother.' I am sorry I am not very enthusiastic about being here"

"I understand..." Caden said respectfully. Caden looked ahead again, but something soon caught his eye. In the gentle light given off by the lantern, he saw a slight reflection just off the side of the gantry. "What is that?" Caden approached the walkway's edge and looked down at what gave the reflection. "Looks like some old armor on… a… cloak…"

Sephiroth walked up behind Caden. "Even after all these years, it hangs here... Yet another ghost of my past sins…"

Caden shook of Sephiroth's comments. "I'm gonna try and get it." Sephiroth tried to object, but couldn't make out any words. Uninterrupted, Caden climbed off the gantry. The entire reactor building grew silent, as Caden continued further down to the cloak. When Caden reached the dark cloth, he confidently grabbed onto the cold steel of the armor, and made his way back up to the gantry above. When Caden reached the top of the gantry, the room breathed a collective sigh of relief. After bringing it up, Caden handed the cloak to Sephiroth.

Sephiroth took his forgotten garment and search through a pocket on the inside. When he found what he was searching for, he threw the cloak down into the bawls of the reactor. Caden watched as it once again slipped into darkness. Sephiroth showed no emotion to what he had just done. "It was a symbol of a past I wish I could forget… or atone for. Let it make its journey to the crater."

Caden looked at Sephiroth's hand. "What did you take from it?"

"It is a key card that might help us in Midgar," Sephiroth said as he held up the plastic card. "It should give use almost unlimited access to the entire city; that is if the Shinra did not change all the codes"

"Oh…" Caden looked at the rest of the group, who where now all looking straight at him. "Ok, you're probably wondering why I went 'monkey.' Well, I... felt like it. Besides, there was no other way to get it."

Marlene relaxed her gaze. "Just like when we were kids."

"Hey don't blame me for my tree climbing. You were the real monkey," Caden said jubilantly

"Anything to get away from the crowds," Marlene replied with a slight laugh.

Caden peered ahead through the darkness, an grew serious again. "We better keep moving…" Caden started to walk with lantern in hand, and the others followed; they entered into the next chamber silently. They had barely entered the room when Caden began to feel weak.

Marlene ran up behind Caden to catch him if he began to fall. "Are you ok?"

Caden tried to shake off his sudden fatigue. "Yeah, just a little light headed," Caden said as he held his head and stared down to what appeared to be a large metal door. "The hell?" Caden moved the lantern over the mysterious object. The light shone on it, as well as a large pod that it once attached to. He walked silently over to the pod, as if drawn to it. There was a plaque on the side of the pod with the words 'Cell Samples Gast A. and JC001: Sample JC014' written on it. Caden laid his free hand against the cold metal. In an instant, Caden's mind went blank.

  
  


Caden began think clearly again. He looked around him, but he was no longer in front of the pod. Instead he was confined; suspended in the thick green slurry of a Mako pod. He could hear two men talking outside his confinement. One of them was just inside the doorway that led into the pod room and the other sounded as if he were above the pod Caden was trapped in. The man in the doorway walked up to the pod. "I have a really bad feeling about this."

The other man picked up a wrench and adjusted a valve. "Quit yer yappin. We gotta get this done… This place gives me the creeps." He finished his adjustments and dropped the tool. "There, we're done." The whirs of machinery stopped and the building went dark. "Go tell that IU guy we're done..." The sound machinery interrupted the man. "What the hell was that?"

The man by the door turned on a flashlight and pointed it to the ceiling above his companion. "S-s-sir…" he tried to utter, but was paralyzed with fear.

"What!?!? You useless bag of shi…" A blade at the end of a robotic tail pierced the man in mid-sentence, and pulled away with the same stealth and speed. The robot attached to the blade dropped down behind the now lifeless body. It was small for a guardian robot, only two meters tall. Its four legs were poised to attack, and its two rifle arms aimed at the next target.

The man left alive dropped his flashlight as he ran from the robot. "The hell is a guard scorpion still doing here!?" The robot answered with a volley of gauss rifle fire, killing the man.

Caden could barely see anything, but he could hear it clearly. Caden looked down at his hands, but they were the hands of a child. These hands began to force the pod door of its hinges, crashing to the floor below. Caden could see through the child's eyes as he ran from the pod, and the sound of the robot. He took the coat from the bullet riddled dead man on the gantry, and wrapped himself in it. He ran out of the dark reactor building, but stopped in front of a third man. His eyes burned bright blue in the dark storm riddled sky. The chocobo he rode stared ahead menacingly, and warked a startling scream. The man pulled a sword from of his back, and held it ready to strike down the child. The child coward in fear covering his face with his right hand, but no harm came to him. The man lowered his sword, and got off his chocobo.

  
  


Caden came out of his vision. He was dazed, but otherwise fine. "I saw it… I saw… my birth… It was… here… This was my pod… ...My pod…" He took his hand away from the relict before him. Caden's mood quickly changed though, to that of anxiety. "We have to get outta here, now! There's a big, nasty, robot guard some where in here."

Sephiroth looked at Caden with surprise. "Whatever you saw in that vision is just that, a vision. There is no way a robot in here is going to be operational. The battery would have exhausted years ago." Sephiroth walked up a couple of steps and faced the group again. "Even if there were some way for the battery to remain charged, I shut down all the defenses twenty five years ago. Only myself, Hojo, or the President could reactivate them."

"Ok, then what's that?" Caden pointed over Sephiroth's head at large robotic tail.

Sephiroth turned around and faced the owner of the robotic tail. "That would be the reactor's defenses…"

"Everyone, watch out! This thing can do some really nasty shit with its tail," Caden said as he unsheathed his sword and prepared for an impending attack. "At least this thing looks slow." The robot jumped over the party and landed behind Caden with lightning speed. Caden turned and deflected the tail blade as it came down hard.

Bowden pulled two daggers from their sheaths, and prepared for another attack. "#@$%! What the hell you talkin' about!? That ain't slow!"

Marlene took an arrow and nocked it into her bow. "Then we have to slow the damn thing down."

The robot swung its tail down at Caden, but he was able to deflect the attack. "I'm up for suggestions. Hey mister everything Mako, what do you suggest?"

Bowden stepped back slightly. "Run and don't look back! That thing was the original prototype for the X-AM9A Guard Scorpion. It just happens to be smaller, faster, and may I add… STRONGER!"

Caden slashed at the mechanical fiend before him, but the robot dodged the attack with great ease. "That's not encouraging, Bow!"

Sephiroth stayed back and watched. He soon saw the answer Caden wanted. "You see that hump on its back. It stores the batteries and power management. Destroy that and that thing is done for."

Caden swung again at the robot, but it jumped away into the darkness that surrounded them. "I'd do that, if it would just stay the @#%$ still."

Bowden searched around the lit area frantically. "The hell did it go!? Next time I see that thing I'm…"

"Bow, shut up! I can hear it." Caden said as he walked to the edge of the light. He heard a volley of weapons fire and ducked into the shadows narrowly avoiding the shots. "We need more light in HERE! Fire!!" On his command, a pod burst into flames next to the robot. It was on the left side of the staircase.

The robot began to move towards Caden. Marlene stepped into its line of sight. "Been nice seeing you!" Marlene said as she fire an arrow at the robot. The arrow pierced a sensor on the robot's head. It stumbled backwards blindly, and crashed into a wall.

"Bow, now's your chance. Give that thing the adamantaimai treatment," Caden said while pointing at the crippled robot with his sword.

"One ka-boom make-over coming up!" Bowden said as he pulled out a small package of explosives from his satchel. He ran and jumped up onto the robot near the hump. It bucked, but Bowden diligently stayed on. When he had planted the ordinance, he jumped off and detonated it. The explosion tore open the hapless automaton in a spectacular orange blast. The resulting light brilliantly lit the rest of the chamber.

Caden stepped back in dismay at the sight of many pods. "…Wo… Guess I wasn't an only child."

Sephiroth looked over the rows of pods. "No, the rest were normal members of SOLDIER put through extensive Jenova and Mako therapy. By the end, they were no longer human. Didn't even look it."

Bowden walked over to what remained of the robot. He looked at one of the huge mechanical legs. "Hey guys, look at this!" Everyone immediately crowded around Bowden. "Look at that… It looks like some little kid tried to crush the leg." He pointed to a depression. It was several centimeters deep, but it looked as if the hands of a child had grabbed it. "Caden… did you…"

"No, I ran… …So there's another… Wonder if I'll meet him out there."

"Well I hope not!" Marlene said, horrified by the thought of finding the person who had, as a child, tried to tare a homicidal robot apart with his bare hands. "Look at what he did here! Who knows what he's like now!"

"Right, who knows. For all we know he could be a leader or a soldier. A doctor, or even a madman. We don't know, do we? He could be anything. Besides, he was probably killed by this thing," Caden said, trying to defend the reasoning of his search. Caden looked to his left and found another ruined pod. "That must have been his pod… The door has the same damage as mine."

Bowden looked up at the same pod. "Shit! That's a lotta power…"

Caden looked at the plaque that was placed on the side of the pod. The words 'Cell Sample Gast A. and JC001: Sample' were on it, but the sample number was 'JC015.' "Kinda like what's inside of me…" Caden said, not looking up. Bowden was silent, for a change. "Just a scared little kid with the strength of a dragon…" Caden paused, but immediately turned around and walked down the stairs again.

Cloud intercepted Caden. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I just a lot to take in today." Caden faced turned around. "Guys, thank you for coming with me…" Caden let a smile creep across his face. "Now I know I can face whatever's waiting in Midgar."

  
  


By the time the group reached the foot of mount Nibel, the sun was already low in the sky. The day had been long and tiring, but Caden thought it was worth it. He was quiet as he sat on a rock and watched the sun set over the mountains. A cool breeze blew through his hair, but he did not notice. He watched as the sun ducked below the peaks and spires.

The thought provoking silence soon gave way to the sound of footsteps, as Marlene walked up behind Caden and grabbed his shoulder. "Hey Caden, food's ready."

Caden didn't turn around. "Give me a minute or two. I'm just trying to absorb the day."

"I understand." Marlene sat on the rock next Caden. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Caden looked at Marlene. "What?"

Marlene pointed at the mountains. "The sun, the mountains, even the reactor in this light."

"Really? They all used to give me nightmares when I was a kid. Guess I know why now." Caden smiled a little. Marlene began to smile as well. They both sat on the rock and watched the mountains slowly veil themselves in darkness. When the last rays of light passed below the mountain, Caden stood up. "Well we better not let the grub get cold. There's nothing worse than my father's cooking cold."


	8. Reasons

Chapter 7: Reasons

  
  


Caden could feel the morning sun rising, but he couldn't force himself to rise from his sleeping bag. He was too comfortable to get up, and the heavy morning air was sure to be cold. He did not have long worry about such trivial things, however. The loud cry of a chocobo's 'wark,' which sounded as if it were coming from someplace near, resonated through his ears. Caden opened his eyes to find a chocobo standing over his head, and staring down at him. "The hell!? Why is there a chocobo standing over me!" The chocobo commenced to clamp down on Caden's long white hair with its beak. "Ow! Is every chocobo I run into gonna grab my hair!?" He stood up from the ground in a fit, as the chocobo released his hair.

"No, there's only one." Caden turned around to see Tifa standing behind the chocobo. "Sorry Caden, he followed me here."

"Should have figured it was Swift." Swift 'warked.' Caden turned to face Tifa again. "Mother, what are doing out?"

"Your father called," Tifa said somberly. "He told me that you summoned Holy, and about the reactor. I agreed to meet you here yesterday, but I was tied up in Nibelhiem."

Caden looked at his disheartened mother. "Mother, it's alright, I'm fine. I really am."

An awkward silence followed. Tifa was still worried, and Caden did not now what else to say. The silence was only broken by Marlene's call to breakfast. "HEY CADEN! BRING THE MED-KIT. YOUR FATHER'S COOKING!"

Caden began to cringe as he tried to explain to Tifa. "Uh… inside joke… …Feel like tempting fate?"

Tifa felt obligated to defend her husband's cooking, despite the fact that she felt the same. "Come on, it's not... that bad." Caden gave her a strained look. "Well… your still gonna eat it, right?"

Caden shook his head a little, unsure what to say. "…Yes…" he was finally able to mutter

"So it can't be that bad. Come on, your breakfast is getting cold," Tifa said as she began to walk towards the kitchen area.

"That would be an improvement…" Caden laughed to himself, and then followed Tifa.

  
  


Caden sat back in his camp seat and stared ahead blankly after finishing his meal. Marlene waved a hand in front of his empty gaze. "Oh no, he's been poisoned!" she said in shock.

Caden broke from his gaze and looked at the surprised crowd around him. "That… was… damn fine. …First time for everything."

Marlene pointed at Caden and shook her finger. "That's it, there's the proof! Caden's delirious! He's gotta be poisoned!"

Bowden put down his plate, and shrugged his shoulders. "You know Mar, you're really overreacting. It really wasn't that bad."

Marlene turned and gazed at Bowden in awe. "Oh no, it's spreading…"

Cloud took a plate and put it down in front of Marlene. "Come on. I know it's hard to believe, but it really isn't bad. Just try it."

"O-ok…" Marlene held her nose and closed her eyes as she slowly spooned the suspected 'poison' into her mouth, and chewed. "…Not bad."

"Oh no, she's poisoned," Caden retorted sarcastically, and jokingly handed Marlene the medkit. He tried to keep from laughing while doing this.

Marlene swatted the medkit away. "Oh shut up!" Marlene shoveled more of the concoction into her mouth. "I was starvin'."

Cloud, looking like the proud chef, pointed at the mountain. "Must be the clear mountain water." The rest of the group responded to Clouds remarks with silent stares.

"So fearless leader, what do we do now?" Marlene asked, breaking the silence.

Caden leaned on the camp table. "Well we have a week before we need to report to Nibel Aerospace Command, sooooo, I want everyone to go find your own reasons for this battle. Saying that we fight for the planet is all nice and good, but it's not the only reasons. Some of us are searching for our past, some of us are out to prove ourselves, and some of us have a fascination with things going 'boom'."

Bowden looked up from the table. "Hey! I resent that! I'm a connoisseur of finer detonations."

"Yeeeeeeeeah, same thing…" Caden said while rolling his eyes. "Anyway, we all have our reasons. I want you all to go out and find them. Hold onto them, and remember them. They will give you more strength then any weapon. It will be what keeps you sane when you're surrounded by insanity. Remember this, and we will all come out alive... So were's everyone going?"

Sephiroth leaned against a rock. "Somewhere where my memories were happier and at the same time more despairing then anywhere else on the planet."

Caden turned to Bowden. "What about you Bow?"

Bowden sat up. "Junon, so I can visit the WEAPON Siege Memorial. It's the only way I've ever known my dad. In a strange way, it's always given me strength."

Caden turned again to Marlene. "Mar?"

Marlene sat on a rock behind her. "That's a stupid question, you know."

Caden smirked as he realized the myopic nature of his question. "I know, home."

Marlene pushed some of the food on her plate around. "Yeah, I have way to much to explain to Papa."

"Maybe not all that much," Cloud said as he was packing up the camp kitchen gear.

Marlene stood up in surprise and a kind of fear. "…What do you mean?"

Cloud put down a set of nested pots. "It was shortly after Meteor fell. We came to get you in Kalm. Most everyone in the town was hiding in their homes when we came. It was dark, but you weren't scared at all. Even Barret still had a cold sweat, but you were calm, smiling. You went on talking about the 'Flower Lady' saying you would be safe, and that the Lifestream was moving. We knew then you were different. That you may be an ancient. There was no way to tell then, so we never told you. We could only… watch. Wait for you to grow older."

Marlene became disheartened by Cloud's words. "Why couldn't you tell me before? Did I really have to learn by being 'slashed' by a sword?"

"We didn't have a choice," Tifa said, trying to explain. "We didn't know how many Shinra executives and higher ups were left. We were afraid for your life."

Marlene sat down as she contemplated all that had been said. "I think I understand," she said, calmer now.

Caden looked at the still rising sun. "Well, we don't have much time left. If we're going to have time to find our motivations, we better get going soon."

  
  


It was late in the day when he arrived. There was a freshly fallen snow all around him, and all he could think of was how much he hated it. "It snowed that day to," he said to himself. He wore a hood over his head, so no one would recognize him. He walked into the small city, and towards a building off of the center of town. There were a few snowboarders standing outside the tavern a few houses away, but they paid no attention to him. He walked over to the building, and entered it. He walked to the center of the room he entered, and looked around. "Nothing's changed. Forty years, and nothing's changed"

The door opened and slammed behind him. He heard the sound of blades being drawn. "Alright, turn around! Now!" a woman ordered. The man did as he was told. "Now, take off that hood!" He again complied. The woman stepped back in disbelief as she looked at the man's face. " …I thought you died… Sephiroth, is that really you." The woman lowered her weapons.

Sephiroth looked at her and began to relax. "Malina, it's me. I'm alive."

Malina put her weapons on a table and sat in a nearby seat. "But… how? Twenty-five years ago…?"

Sephiroth shook his head. "I didn't die… I just took... a long nap..." One detail still bothered Sephiroth. "Didn't you hear about what happened twenty years ago?"

Malina stared at the floor. "I didn't believe it… never wanted too." Malina looked into Sephiroth's youthful face. Malina looked up again at Sephiroth's face. "You haven't age a day! But… how? You should look much older then me."

Sephiroth ignored the jest on his age. "…It's complicated… I don't even know were to start," Sephiroth said, not all too willing to discuss his miraculous youth.

Malina relaxed in her seat. "Well start somewhere. Some of us are getting older." Sephiroth did not respond to Malina's light hearted comment. "Still the same though; no sense of humor. Even when we were kids you didn't laugh much."

Sephiroth face stayed as serious as before. "I never had much to laugh at."

"Maybe not, but you always did find the absolute worst times to laugh," Malina laughed as she said that. She soon became melancholic as new thoughts entered her mind. "…You can't age can you? It's because of the Jenova Project isn't it?"

Sephiroth look into Malina's eyes with a sudden serge of fear. "…How did you know about the Jenova Project?" he asked, afraid to know how she knew.

Malina remained stoic. "The Jenova Project was blown wide open after Shinra collapsed. The clones, SOLDIER, and you... Not too many people paid attention to it though, and no one even talked about it after about a month. I doubt too many people even remember it."

"You remembered, though," Sephiroth said as he took the seat behind him. "…Then you know about twenty years ago… You know that…"

Malina stood up and approached Sephiroth. "I knew it wasn't you."

Sephiroth did not look up at Malina, because he could not accept her response so easily. "…How could you be so sure?" Sephiroth asked, as if trying to verbally assault himself and what he knew of he time.

Malina laid her hand on Sephiroth's shoulder. "Because it's not you…" Sephiroth smiled softly, as Malina took the seat next to him. Malina looked at Sephiroth. "That's the smile I remember. The warm smile you always had around me and…"

Sephiroth continued smile, as he laid his hand on Malina's. "Professor Gast and Ifalna. You were the closest thing I ever had to a family."

"We almost were family," Malina said as she rubbed a ring on her right hand.

Sephiroth looked at the ring, the ring he gave her before leaving for Nibelheim all those many years ago. "So you still wear it… Even after all these years."

Malina looked into Sephiroth's eyes. "I always knew you were still alive, and that you would return... someday."

Sephiroth grew somber. He had never expected to see anyone he knew in an age long passed, much less Malina. Now Sephiroth was faced with leaving her once again. "…I am leaving soon... I do not know how to say it..."

Malina looked away from Sephiroth again. "It... it's still out there… and you need to fight it."

"…Yes," Sephiroth said not lifting his head.

"Before you leave, look at the first file in the video recorder. It's encrypted, but I think you know how to get around that," Malina said as she pointed to a terminal by the front door.

Sephiroth got up and walked over to a large console. After typing in the password that Professor Gast had always used, he turned around again. "What am I watching?" Sephiroth asked as he navigated through the list of unlocked files.

"I figure you need to remember what you were fighting for," Malina said as she nodded at the console in front of Sephiroth. "Just watch."

Sephiroth did so, and a screen came to life. The scene was the house he stood in, but it was decorated as if for a party or celebration. There was a woman sitting at the table across the room from the door. "It must be from just after Professor Gast and Ifalna's wedding."

Malina slowly shook her head. "Keep watching."

Sephiroth continued to watch. The door opened and in walked Professor Gast. He held the door open as a young man walked in wearing a new SOLDIER uniform. "It's me… This must be from my graduation party."

Ifalna stood up from her seat and approached Sephiroth. "Welcome back, Sephiroth."

The young Sephiroth smiled. "Thank you. It is good to be home. I just wish I could stay long, but with the standoff with Wutai is really draining the normal forces guarding Midgar. I have to leave next week."

Professor Gast moved into the middle of the room. "Well relax while you can. You have a week to rest and celebrate. SOLDIER 1st Class. It's hard enough to achieve, but fresh out of the academy, that's something."

Sephiroth rubbed his right arm. "I just wish they did not inject me with so much Mako." Sephiroth looked around the room upon realizing someone was missing, but did not find who he was searching for. "Hey, where is Malina? She was supposed to be here, right?"

Sephiroth had hardly finished speaking when a knock was heard at the door. "That must be her," Gast said as he began to open the door. Just outside the door, a 17 year old girl stood.

Once the girl saw Sephiroth, she grappled onto Sephiroth in and embrace, nearly tackling him in the process. "Sephy!"

"Woo! Hello Malina," Sephiroth said as he regained his balance.

"Here, let me get your coat, Malina," Ifalna said as she approached Malina.

Sephiroth stopped Ifalna from taking Malina's coat. "Ifalna, I can take care of this. You need to relax for once. Besides, you have enough to worry about with Aeris." Sephiroth became concerned about the level of noise from the celebration and how it would disturb the sleeping infant downstairs. "Are you sure having a party with a baby trying to rest downstairs?"

"I wouldn't worry about her. She's like her father; can sleep through anything," Ifalna said laughing lightly. She took Malina's coat anyways, and brought it downstairs. Sephiroth did not have time to object again. "Besides, you need to rest as well. Five years, and I have seen you spent all of an hour doing something for yourself," Ifalna said from halfway down the stairs

Gast tried to show Sephiroth to a chair. "Ifalna's right, you don't relax. You never have. Today is your day to relax. "

Sephiroth bowed his head to Gast. "Thank you. Everyone, thank you. There would have been no way I would have gotten as far as I have without you."

Ifalna returned to the top of the stairs while Sephiroth was opening his heart to the everyone. "Now that you are a member of SOLDIER, you will need a reliable and powerful weapon." Ifalna held a very long bladed sword in front of her; presenting it to Sephiroth. "I'm going to be busy raising Aeris… I want you to take…" the video ended suddenly.

Sephiroth held his sword's hilt as he finished Ifalna's ancient words. "…The Masamune…" He then turned around to find Malina standing before him. "Malina, how did you about…?"

"…I have a confession to make… Professor Gast asked me to make sure you never found out the truth about Jenova… He knew it would devastate to you…" Malina responded somberly. "I stumbled on it one day… He found me and made me promise… I didn't want to see you hurt… I've known for over forty years."

Sephiroth lowered his head and closed his eyes, "I understand..., but… it may have been better had I known…" Sephiroth began to walk towards the stairs, and descended them. On the lower level, he approached a closet and opened it; its ancient contents remained untouched for 40 years. He rummaged around for a minute or so until he found what he sought, a small oak box.

Malina looked intently at the box as Sephiroth ascended the stairs once again. Sephiroth opend the box to inspect its contents, four large orbs. They all glowed with a strange but warm green light. "What is this?"

Sephiroth moved the box in order to get a better angle of light. "The four orbs are ancient materia; the first materia to be held by human hands."

Malina was in a state of disbelief. Before her were the things of legends. "…The orbs of the Light Warriors, but… that's just a legend…"

Sephiroth merely smiled at Malina as he closed the box. "No, they are quite real, but the power needed to use them is greater then anything I could ever summon… It is a power that only the ancients, the Cetra could control… It cannot stay here any longer… The next protector may need it… More importantly, he may be able to wield them." Sephiroth once again grew somber. "I need to leave again… I cannot run from it, not anymore."

Malina looked away as she realized that Sephiroth was once again departing so soon after they were reunited. "…I understand. You'll come back soon, right."

Sephiroth embraced his one time faience. "I will try, my love." With that said, Sephiroth left once again into the snow.

  
  


"It's cold here, but… then again, it's always cold here," Bowden said to himself as he looked ahead of him. The streets of Junon were almost empty. It was dusk, and most stores and taverns were already closed. That day was a solemn day in the seaside metropolis. Twenty-one years ago to the day, WEAPON attacked the city. Hundreds of SOLDIERs died that day. "Why… why did you have to die…?" Bowden asked an unseen phantom, and turned to face his mother. "Mom… what was he like?"

The middle-aged woman walking with him put her arm around him. "He was very much like you. Vibrant, bright, and brave. He never let his work interfere with his life though."

"But… he left us that day alone!" Bowden outburst angrily, but he was unsure of his own emotions at the time. It was like this every time he visited this city. Surges of sadness, anger, and fear welling up in him, but unable to escape. It was a silent torment that he could never escape.

Bowden's mother tried to keep her composure, but failed to hold her feelings as grief dripped from the cracks forming in her demeanor. "…Yes… but he did so that we would live... He left to protect his family."

Bowden could feel his own heart break and began to regret his unfounded and hastily concluded accusation. "…So he was a hero…" Bowden continued to walk forward upset with himself, but reassured that his father did not die while running from his responsibilities. He was now determined to deliver the package in his hands at any cost. "Why did it attack…?" he asked silently to himself, knowing full well what WEAPON's target was.

His mother heard him, however. "It was because of that damn reactor." Her anger and rage was easily heard in her voice. "It came because it wanted to destroy the reactor... and anything built on it's creation."

Bowden thought carefully as he tried to change the subject in a way to comfort his mother without alarming her. "Mom, you know how you always said I never applied myself?" Unfortunately, he was terrible at it.

Bowden's mother looked at him accusingly, not knowing where this conversation was going but fearing its outcome non the less. "What are you getting at, Bowden?" Bowden did not immediately answer and his mother became a little frustrated. "Bowden! What the hell are you talking abou..."

"I'm going with Caden to Midgar," Bowden abruptly said, interrupting his mother. Bowden shuttered and braced, as if he were injected with a vicious poison.

Upon Bowden's reply, his mother's frustration soon turned to grave concern. She did not turn her head, but drew in and released a deep breath. "…You're leaving on some damn fool crusade with Caden?" she asked, knowing all to well the answer was yes.

Bowden looked down somberly, "I have to… Weren't you the one who said that 'destiny has a lousy sense of humor, so it should just sit its dumb ass down and pound a drink?'"

"That's not what I meant when I said that," Bowden's mother said with light laugh. However, her mood returned to what it had been before. "…It's just that… I can't lose you the way I lost your father…"

"You won't, I promise," Bowden reassured his mother, cutting right through the mask that she so carelessly tried to hide behind. "Besides, who's gonna look after Lobo if I die? He'd go nuts without me." Bowden's quirky smile did nothing to ease his mothers concern. "Don't worry, I plan on out living Mako energy."

The two continued their sojourn in silence for the moment, but returned to conversation when they passed an old storefront. Bowden's mother reminisced about a day long gone. "That store over there used to be a tavern. That's actually where I met your father," she explained while a smile crept across her face. "He just got transferred from the Mount Coral reactor, and I just came from Gongaga. I really looked like a country girl, and he really saved me from the drunks at bar. If he wasn't there, I don't know what I would've done." Bowden's mother laughed softly to herself, and began again. "He actually came up to the bar when he saw these men swarming around me, and challenged the largest biker there to a shots contest. The guy was already drunk, but he took your father up on it. The biker took two shots then threw up in the lap of his buddy. The best part was, the biker was so inebriated, he ended up paying for our meals." She began to sigh as she finished her anecdote, looking once again ahead of her. "He protected me then and refused to do otherwise until he died. You know he loved you very much."

Bowden sighed, remembering his blind and burning accusations from before, but regained himself and continued to walk forward. "Yeah, I just forget sometimes, no matter how hard I try to remember." 

Bowden's mother crossed her arm and looked at a stone pillar as they approached it from the street. The top of the pillar had twenty-four simple myrthril figures, each carrying an equally simple riffle. The gray stone shimmered in the retreating light of dusk. "It's amazing how this thing seems to bring out anything and everything," she said melancholically.

Bowden continued to walk to the pillar, and put his hand on one of the many names that were engraved on it. The name he touched read Jonah Havok. "I must be because dad's here."

Bowden's mother peered off at the sea which had so cruelly taken her husband twenty-one years before. "Yeah, he is," she said when her focus returned to the pillar. Meanwhile, Bowden removed from the package he had so dutifully carried, a wreathe of olive and oak branches. Carefully taking the braided bundle of limbs, he walked to the cliff like edge of the city. Drawing in a deep breath, Bowden took the wreathe in his one hand and heaved it into the crashing surf below. When he returned to where his mother was, they both looked up at the top of the pillar just below the figures at an inscription that read, 'To those who guard us eternally.'

  
  


"Geez, I'm already bored," Marlene groaned as she fell back on the mats that she sat on.

Caden laughed as Marlene griped about a lack of entertainment. "Didn't I warn you that I was going to train this entire time?" Caden replied as he struck a sparring bag with a long wooden staff.

Marlene sat up again, ready to explain her decision. She didn't have to, but she felt compelled to anyway. "Yeah… but I thought you'd at least train with a sword. Besides, Papa's the one who I wanted to spend time with, and he's here visiting your… um…"

Caden laughed lightly, understanding Marlene's reluctance to calling Cloud and Tifa by what he had always accepted them as. "parents still works, Mar. Just the same as when I thought I was the orphan of a veteran SOLDIER."

Marlene relinquished her original perception of Caden's situation. "I know. It's just that, with everything that has happened lately." Marlene relaxed after realizing her hesitation was unfounded. "So, why aren't we in there with them?" 

Caden swung the staff from his right hand over his head and grabbed it with his left had. "Nah, it's their time to catch up… Things have been so hectic lately."

Marlene looked questioningly at Caden as he continued to strike and jab the sparring bag with skill and grace. "You mean like finding out that you're something that you never thought you were."

Caden stopped his training and turned to face Marlene. "Yeah," he said very cool and casually.

Marlene was impressed with Caden's handling of the facts of his existence. Although she was a little skeptical that he could be so care free about such a serious matter. "And yet it just rolls of your back?" she asked, not fully expecting any answer.

Caden stopped his training an turned around to where Marlene was watching him. "The circumstances in which I came into existence don't matter. What does matter is that I'm here now. You've been through enough to know that. Creation is creation. I'm alive, that's what matters. Not some rusting compressor in an out dated reactor."

Marlene looked back at Caden with even more amazement. "So when did you pick up philosophy?" Marlene asked jokingly.

"What? Is that how it came out?" Caden responded, merely to play along with Marlene's jest. Caden smiled as he tried to hold back from laughing uncontrollably, but failed. He roared with laughter. It did not help Marlene hold here composure either, as she began laughing as well. They both stopped after few seconds and caught their breathes. "This would've never happened when we were young," Caden said as he sat down staff in hand.

Marlene thought back to the days of their youth. Memories of traveling between Nibel and Coral, roaming around the fields that surrounded the Strife residence, and just being a child. Then there was Caden. "No, you were a little more occupied with the chocobos."

In his usual way, Caden felt compelled to defend his youthfulness. "Hey, if you can wrestle chocobos, then do it. Anyway, it's easier than using a chocobo lure."

Marlene merely eyed Caden conspicuously at his boasting. As was Marlene's usual way of dealing with Caden's air of pride, she decided to knock him back down to human eye level. "You mean your hair."

"Yes I mean my…! Hey!" Caden responded as soon as he realized Marlene was making a joke at his expense.

Marlene chuckled innocently, even though she was robed in guilt over the jest. "Well, if the hat fits," she said, completely removing any trace of innocence in the matter.

"Ha ha HA! Always picking on my hair," Caden sarcastically replied, but smiled afterwards knowing it was all in good fun. "But seriously, we were both really quiet kids. Except when you would start braiding my hair." The accusing eye he shot at Marlene could have cut steel.

"Well... umm.... hmm... yeah, well it's just that your hair was fun to play around with," Marlene tried to say in her defense. Her mood stiffened when she contemplated what else Caden said. "Wasn't much to talk about… at least pleasantly. We both had a rough early childhood. I mean we both knew we were adopted, but… not knowing who we really were…" Marlene's despair prevented her from finishing her thought.

"Did we really have to know our past to know ourselves?" Caden asked somewhat rhetorically, but half expecting an answer.

Marlene broke from her despair and looked at Caden. "No, I guess not." Marlene paused, realizing that it happened again. "You know you just did it again."

Caden laughed lightly and smiled. "I guess I'm on a roll." He stood up again, staff in hand, and renewed his training. "You know, you were a little terror yourself. Always starting fights."

Offended, Marlene shot a petrifying gaze at Caden. "I never started them! I just... finished them. Besides, you know that a lot of people still blamed Papa for the…" Marlene stopped as she realized Caden moot point in her time line. "Oops! Forgot it was before your time."

"No, no I get what you're talking about," Caden said, reassuring Marlene that he knew enough of the time period to feign knowledge. "Anyway, you weren't too old then yourself."

Marlene shook her head to Caden's comment. "Nope."

Caden continued, in part to show Marlene that he really did know what was going on. "Doesn't even matter anymore. If it weren't for him, North Coral would probably still be a slum. What was it, sixteen years ago? The virus that spread through out the city."

Marlene sat back against the wall as she reminisced about the harsher days. "I remember the mad dash for supplies and the murders of whole families."

"No one trusted each other, but your father brought them back together… with his usual charm," Caden said as he swung his staff into the mid-section of the sparring bag.

Marlene laughed as she thought of that scene. "Never doubt that chain gun of his. It did get everyone's attention."

Caden laughed as he continued to strike the bag. "Hey, Mar, what time is it?"

Marlene looked up at the clock on the wall. Her mood soon became that of startled chocobo, as the time was past what they had planned to leave at. "Oh shit! We've gotta go, now!" Marlene yelled as she stood up and tossed Caden his coat.

"Okay, you're definitely like Barret," Caden said as he put on his coat and scabbard. Marlene responded by grabbing his hair and pulling him out of the room. "Alright, ow! I'm sorry. Ow! Ow! Ow!"


	9. Walkers on Wind

Chapter 8: Walkers on Wind

  
  


"Great! We're almost there," Marlene exclaimed as she pointed at a large expanse of buildings and pavement. "Nibel Air Command at Rocket Town."

"And their she is," Caden responded gleefully while pointing at a large aircraft with huge wings. "The Highwind. Cid says he likes her the way she is now better then when he designed it. Faster, lighter, and packs more bombs."

"Good old Cid. Knows what he wants in a war machine," Marlene sarcastically replied, but not in any spiteful way. "Do you remember how pissed he got that time you took the controls? The first time I ever heard someone complete sentences in swears."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We all had a great time, but hey, she stayed up," Caden responded in his defense. As they continued their ride in, Caden patted Swift on the head. "Let get moving Swift!" Swift 'warked' in response and ran faster.

They soon came to the front gate of the massive air base compound where two armed guards greeted them at the vehicle check point. Their green uniforms were familiar to Caden as he had visited the base on a number of occasions. One of the two walked right up to Caden as he and Marlene dismounted Swift. "Name and purpose of visit," the guard said as if it were second nature to him.

"Caden Strife here for a meeting with Rear Admiral Highwind," Caden responded as he produced a photo ID.

The guard returned the ID to Caden and then turned to Marlene. "And you, Ma'am?" 

Marlene also showed the guard an ID. "Marlene Wallace here for a meeting with Rear Admiral Highwind." The guard carefully examined her ID before returning it to her. 

The guard returned to where his partner stood. After some conversing and a phone call from the guard station, the guard returned to Caden and Marlene with two base IDs. He handed the corresponding IDs to the both of them. "You're both clear to pass. The Admiral is ready to see you at anytime. Another of your party has also arrived as well as a man claiming to be a part of your party."

"What did you do with him?" Caden asked while guiding Swift. He began to worry that they had apprehended Sephiroth, but thankfully it did not seem like they recognized him.

The guard lowered the rifle he was carrying and pointed to a metal bunker about two hundred meters from the gate. "We're holding him in the interrogation building. He was armed with an unusually long katana."

Caden nodded to the guard. "Thank you. We'll take care of this" He then proceeded to guide Swift into the base while Marlene followed.

The three of them walked half way to the bunker in silence. However, it was bothering Marlene. Caden had such a serious look to his face and it seemed very unnatural to him. "Suppose it's Sephiroth?" she asked in an attempt to break his grim attitude.

Caden in surprise, stopped and turned to face Marlene. "Who else would walk around with an 'unusually long katana'?"

Marlene laughed as she thought about Caden's grand dream for his Gold Saucer earnings. "You with another thousand GP."

"Touché," Caden said as his mood lightened and they began to walk again across the pavement. After another minute or so, they stopped in front of the gate brig. "Alright, here we are." Without hesitation, Caden opened the door.

Caden and Marlene entered the building, leaving Swift outside. The first room was dimly lit by only a couple of caged wall lights, and it seemed to accent the fact that it was a prison. Just inside the door were two more guards, one behind a desk while the other was standing in front of him. The one standing stepped put his hand up as sign to halt. "Sir, I have to ask you to leave," he said carefully yet commanding.

Caden just flashed the guard his temporary base ID. "Don't worry. I'm authorized." The guard stood down. "What's the situation?"

The second of the two guards handed Caden a sheet of paper. "Two hours ago, a man claiming to be allied with you approached our guards and tried to enter the grounds. He was armed with an unusually long sword, and carried no identification. However, he didn't put up any resistance, and came with us voluntarily. He claims his name is Damien Capulet, but I believe it is just an alias."

Caden looked over the sheet before returning it to the guard at the desk. By the description on the report, the man claiming to be Damien Capulet was Sephiroth. "May I see the detainee?"

"Yes, but your conversation will be monitored at all times," the standing guard responded as he unlocked a door that led into the interrogation room.

"Thank you," Caden said politely as he entered the room with Marlene just behind him. The room was as dimly lit as the rest of the building. The same caged lights that illuminated the first room did so with the interrogation room. Inside there was simple metal table, and sitting at one end was Sephiroth.

"I Should have figured you would have Cloud's timing," Sephiroth said without moving so much as an inch.

Caden raised one eyebrow while he stared at the hooded man across from him. "Yeah… Good to see you too… Damien. How long have you been here?"

Sephiroth looked up and out the window into the first room. It was unusual for an interrogation room not to have a half-silvered mirror, but this way the glass could be reinforced with steel mesh. "One, maybe two hours," Sephiroth said and then looked at Caden. "Bowden is here too, but he was not much for talking with me. He went to the base office instead." Sephiroth seemed to be a little upset that he had to utter that word. It was as if it were some kind of taboo to him. "Humph! A base, what a waste of perfectly good land. You know in my…"

"No military critiquing," Caden interrupted while raising his hand to silence Sephiroth. "Your 'day' was only five years ago and you had bases. Now, are you ready to go yet, Damien?"

Sephiroth looked at Caden, understanding what he was getting at. Even though he was the expert on the aging of Active Jenovans, Sephiroth would often forget that outwardly giving his age would be a warning sign to the guards that he was not normal. "Yes," Sephiroth coolly said as he stood up. The three walked out of the room silently.

The standing guard stepped in the way of their path just as Sephiroth left the interrogation room. "Hold it! Were do you think you are you going?"

Caden calmly put up his hand. "Don't worry, he is with me." He turned to the guard behind the desk. "Make sure he gets his weapons back."

"Yes sir," the guard said as he turned around. The guard turned around again after retrieving Sephiroth's items, but slowly. So slowly, that he appeared to be in pain. He carried the Masamune in his hand and a strange wooden box in his other. "One sword, and one oak box containing four magic type materia."

Sephiroth took the items, and the guard seemed to heal instantly from his infirmity.

Caden watched the scene intently. He knew that only Sephiroth could carry the Masamune because it was made from Jenova contaminated metal, but he never expected it to cause such a degree of suffering as it had. The guard could barely hold onto the ancient relic, but was relieved of his pain immediately after letting go. "Alright, let's go," he said as he reached for the door. They exited the building together and proceeded with Swift in tow towards the base office. "So, Sephiroth, why the alias?"

Sephiroth looked at Caden with a questioning eye. "Think. If I had said my real name."

Caden stopped and frantically waved his hands. "No, no, no. What I meant was, why did you use THAT name?"

"Damien was the name of a character in an old movie, and Capulet is my mother's surname," Sephiroth explained and then scoffed. "It is a better name then Hojo," he said under his breath.

Caden decided not prod further, as it would lead to more angst then necessary. While trying to find a way to break the awkward silence that was developing, Caden spied the box Sephiroth carried and curiosity filled him. "Where did you get that?"

Sephiroth lifted the box and revealed the its contents. "An old family heirloom."

Caden looked at the materia inside. They looked normal but something felt different about them. It did not seem to trigger anything in his mind at the time, as he was still more interested in its back story. "How long has it been in your family?"

"Not my family," Sephiroth responded as he handed Caden the box. "It was Ifalna's. She use to equip them to Masamune, but could never use them. Each of her ancestors wore them into battle with Masamune and the White Materia."

Caden picked up one of the materia and looked at it. Inside were the glyphs that designated it as a magic type fire materia. However, it seemed to have a soft green glow that was more then just the normal reflection of light. "Can't say I've ever seen materia glow this much. At least not before it was used."

"There is more to the story," Sephiroth said. "Those four materia are the Four Orbs of the Light Warriors."

"Their what!?!?" Caden and Marlene asked simultaneously, mouths slack jawed.

"That is the same thing I said when Ifalna first told me," Sephiroth responded calmly. His mood seemed a little lighter from Caden and Marlene's surprise. "They are the Four Orbs of the Light Warriors," he repeated.

Marlene stared at the orbs in Caden's hands. "But they're just a legend. A child's story Papa use to tell me before bed. Hell, Cloud doesn't even take it seriously."

Sephiroth laughed silently. "They are most certainly not a legend. They are sitting right in front of you." Sephiroth's mood changed slightly again, but it was more that of impatience. "Now, are we just going to stand here, or are we going to a meeting."

Caden lowered the lid on the box and put it in a pocket on the inside of his coat. "Uh… yeah. Let get going." They all began to walk again, and stopped in front of a tall office building. "Cid's office is on the fourth flour. It's a nice corner office overlooking the rocket launch pads and the Highwind's mooring field." Caden reached for the door and opened it. "After you."

  
  


The clock ticked on the wall of the small waiting room outside Cid's office. Caden, Marlene, and Sephiroth met up with Bowden about ten minutes before hand, but they had not heard from Cid yet. None of the four seemed all too concerned with speaking, so they kept the silence. Everyone had found a seat to wait in, but Caden stood in front of a wall of glass that looked out on the airfield. Sprawled across the tarmac were Windwalkers and their crews. Caden watched one in particular as it vertically rose from the pavement, carrying its payload of missiles and bombs. When it had cleared area it once occupied, a new aircraft filled its position. Just like clock work, this dance of metallic birds continued across the field. The coming mission was going to be the largest such mission in more the thirty years, and many of the pilots were still novice. However, their part was small. Once Caden brought his aircraft into Midgar, they would be recalled to Junon to refuel and return here. Caden continued to watch, worrying. A lot of the pilots were not much older then him, but they may not return home. It was humbling and frightening all at once, but he continued to watch.

"Hey, Caden, you alright?" Marlene asked while tapping Caden's shoulder. She stood there with the same stoic look. It was kind of hard to not to have such a serious mind set. This was their first military operation since graduating, and they would be the ones to set high water mark. It was different for Sephiroth, but not by much. In his case, it was just something he had not done in thirty years. "You're starting to freak me out here."

Bowden sat up in his seat and put down a magazine. "Me too. Caden, you haven't said more then five words since getting here."

Caden turned around to face his friends. "Yeah, sorry about that. I'm kind of out of it right now." He wore his concern on his face but was reluctant to admit to it. "I was just thinking."

"Now is not the time to reconsider following through on this mission," Sephiroth said in his usual cold way, but he did not move from his spot.

Caden shook his head. "No, no, I'm still going through with this. I just haven't been able to focus on the mission all that much today." Caden walked over to an empty seat and sat down. Thoughts of fear filled him, but not for his safety. In less then a day, he would be commanding an invasion force. He was afraid of failing to the point where one of his comrades would not return home. It was a terrible responsibility, and it was on his shoulders no more then a month and a half after graduating. He looked over at the door to Cid's office when his thoughts returned to the real world. "Hey, what's taking Cid so long?"

"Eh, you know these military types," Bowden replied, even though he knew the question was rhetorical. "They like to make you wait so they make you feel they're in control."

Marlene walked back to her seat. She knew that was not the reason for the wait. "No, that's just Cid. Last I heard, he was stuck in a meeting with his counter parts in the other nations planing this thing. He's probably still in that right now."

"Yeah, he was grumbling about that last week when I called," Caden said rather relaxed. It was a relief to Marlene and Bowden that he was less tense now. Neither of them had seen him so uptight before. "So, how are you guys feeling about this?" Caden asked, trying to shift the attention from his own obvious fears and doubts.

"I'm feeling good about it," Marlene responded with a youthful exuberance. "We'll go in, skewer the bastard, and be home in time for supper."

"Yeah, plus I'll be the last one to see the inside of the great Mako Reactors of Midgar," Bowden responded as well.

"Just a little confident, aren't we, Bow?" Caden asked with a discerning eye.

Bowden just laughed. "After the explosion I have planned for them, you bet. I'm packing Semtek and C4 just for detonators. The big boom will be from a fuel-air explosive made on site from the petroleum based oils and equipment already kept in the reactors."

Caden smiled at the prospects of the fire works he would see. "I knew I got the right person for the job." It was at about that time that the door opened and a woman walked out of the room. Like most everyone else on the base, she was dressed in a Nibel Air Command uniform and her hair was tied back. She walked half way into the waiting room before Caden said anything. "Is the Admiral ready to see us?"

"Yes, and he sends his apologies," the woman said. "He was in a video conference all morning. Please follow me." The four stood up and followed the woman into the office. It was an ornately decorated military office. Huge panels of glass separated the far wall of the room from the open air over the launch fields, and directly in front of it was an oak desk topped with papers and charts. A chair sat behind the desk, but was turned to face the window and smoke was billowing from it. No one seemed to be concerned with the smoke though, but it would be a different story if they did not see it. "Admiral, Sir. Task Force Wind is here for their briefing."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," a scratchy voice responded. "You're dismissed." The Lieutenant saluted and left the office. "'Bout time you got here. I had to deal with eight other god damn generals and admirals," the voice said as the chair swivelled around, revealing Cid in his dress uniform and a cigar. He rarely smoked cigarettes anymore, as the cigars do lasts longer. "The general from Shinobi no Kami was the worst to deal with. The fucking asshole already has four operatives in the slum sections of Midgar."

"Yeah, good to see you too, Cid," Caden said as he grabbed Cid's hand. "Other then the last few hours on the phone, how have you been."

"Hell," Cid simply said as he let go of Caden's hand. "You try and reconstruct a fucking maneuver that only one person did thirty years ago, and then teach someone else to do it. It ain't easy."

Caden sat in one of the seats in on the other side of the desk and the others did the same. "From what everyone was telling us, I thought it was an old Shinra maneuver," Caden said, trying to get the whole story.

Cid flicked some ash from his cigar into a glass dish that sat in front of him, then returned it to his mouth and bit down on it. "You ever wonder why they put me in charge of this mission instead of leaving it directly under Carrol's command? It's because I'm the only one who ever pulled this off. Had to land four SOLDIER First Class into a Wutai weapons facility and pull them out after a bomb was set. ...Well, three FCs and a general." Everyone's eyes trained on Sephiroth.

"What?" Sephiroth asked as he sensed everyone's eyes on him. "I did not think it was important to mention. Besides, I was not the one who piloted the vector and could not give any valuable insight."

Caden relaxed, satisfied enough with Sephiroth's excuse. "He has a point. So how did it work out?"

"Like shit," Cid said with a bit of a laugh. "First the triple A that we were going to use as the cover was blow to hell. Then the shot I used as the trigger to fire the smoke generator was off by ten meters. No one seemed to notice though. Not to mention I had to hold a fucking death spin until we were about twenty meter above the ground. Exiting the theater wasn't as bad. All the triple As were taken out, but we had to gun it. The blast damn near took us down."

Caden was starting to worry about his piloting skills. Cid was a legend in the Windwalker pilots realm and he had difficulty pulling this stunt off. Caden would be required to pull of a duel feat of rolling out of a death spin and landing, all the while making it look like he was shot down. All the skills and test he had already endured might not have been enough. However, it was to late to second guess himself. "You know, I'm not too encouraged by your story."

Cid just laughed. "Don't worry. Midgar is large enough that you don't have to roll out at the last minute." Cid pulled down a diagram of Midgar and picked up a laser pointer from his desk. He proceeded to shine the light on one of the pie shaped sectors. "There's a fifty meter difference between the sector five and seven ruins from the top of sector six. You're going into sector five, then pulling up to sector six and landing between the reactors. From there, Bowden will take out the reactors starting with Mako Reactor V, making his way around clockwise. It's an eight kilometer circuit, so you have to move your ass. I hope you're packing light."

Bowden lightly and proudly patted his pack. "Two kilograms of C4 and Semtek."

"Good," Cid said as he nervously shied his cigar away from Bowden. Focusing back on the briefing, Cid began to point out a new path. "Caden, your main group will move through the ruins of sector six. Current intel says that it is practically deserted, because of it's isolation and lack of usable materials. Don't count it out though, there are still sentries sent in there. Avoid all fights you can, and don't get careless." Cid then pointed to the center of the diagram. An odd shaped building was in the picture, but it seemed familiar to Caden. "This is your target. The former headquarters of Shinra Inc. We think the terrorist have been carrying out their strategic operations from the restored floors. Your objective is to find out if Jenova is still alive and destroy it if it is. Targets of opportunity are the terrorist leader, former SOLDIER General Lenox, and any remaining Jenovan induced creatures. When you complete your objectives, return to the Windwalker and get the fuck out of there."

Caden was satisfied with the ground orders, but was not too sure about his air commands. "So what about the vector?"

"The vector? There will be two waves of air strikes, but you've already heard about that," Cid said. "You will be in the second wave as a part of Wind squadron. Your designation will be Kaze and you will be one of four wingmen assigned to Wind Leader Monsoon. After the first wave completes their run, the air defenses will be up on high alert. Ground based artillery will try to take out as many of the Triple As as possible while Shinobi no Kami infiltrates sectors two, three and eight. That should pull enough of those bastards out of your path to make the ground work easier while delaying reinforcements." Cid pulled down a new diagram, but this one was a graphic depicting the outskirts of and city of Midgar. On the diagram were images representing the different units that would surround the besieged city. "When it's time for the second wave, you will be given a radio signal saying 'crane and snake on hunt'. That is the signal to Wind and Water Squadrons to set up for their attack runs. Water will take point while Wind 'cleans up'. At that time get your eyes on a Triple A that has a really high rate of erratic fire. You will need to predict its line of fire for this to work though, so be careful. When the stream gets close, hit the smoke screen. It's actually a directed materia attack on your right wing feed by fuel from your reserves. It will make a smoky fire above the wing, but won't affect the performance of the vehicle itself. When you trigger that. You need to throw the Windwalker into a death spin towards sector five. After you pull out of the roll but before you pull up, drop your reserve tanks. The explosion should convince the enemy that you crashed in sector five, leaving you free to land at the LZ." Cid snapped down on the diagrams again and let them return to their original position. "Any questions?"

Caden did have a question. "What about reinforcements?"

"You're solo on this one," Cid responded. "Once you go down, the transmission 'lame aquila' will be broadcast; the signal for a downed Windwalker and the name of this stunt."

Sephiroth was beginning to become a little suspicious with the amount of planning that had been put into this mission. Caden has not known about his blood line or the prophecy for more then a matter of weeks, but the invasion tactics being used were from a mission that took months to plan. It seemed odd that this was planned all within the month. "I find it difficult that you could devise such a complex plan in a matter of five weeks," Sephiroth said deliberately and cooly while staring accusingly at Cid.

Cid drew in a deep breath and turned his seat around. He could not face Caden when he told him the truth. "We've had this plan in the works for almost two years now. Since Dr. Strife found the tablets describing the Cetrae Angelus anomaly, and after we eliminated the possibility of it being Aeris. We've suspected that long that Caden had something to do with it. We just needed confirmation. Don't ask me why the fuck we're listening to some jargon from a dead man, but the I.U. has been fixated on the Cetra prophecies since Caden was discovered on Mount Nibel." Cid turned around again to face the group again. "Sorry kid, but your every move in life has been watched by the International Union. They were afraid..."

"That I'd bring about the apocalypse ," Caden interrupted, little more then upset by Cid's candid answer to Sephiroth's question.

"We never thought you were, but some of the higher ups are paranoid that it could come back through you. Cloud fought like hell for you, and that's the only reason you have had a normal life. Yes the I.U. was watching you, but from one hell of a distance. It was the best we could do."

"You call my life normal?" Caden asked half joking, but only as a mask to hide his displeasure with what he heard.

"You had Cloud raising you," Cid replied. "I wouldn't call that a normal life either." Caden's mood did not lighten with Cid's joke. "Hey, don't worry. You turned out good, kid. And once you kick the shit out of that fucking freak of nature, The I.U. won't have any reason to hound you... You should probably get some rest. The mission starts at eight-hundred hours."

Caden shook his head. It had been a while since he had any flight time, and it would be crucial for him to be at the top of his game. "What I need is some flight time. I need to know if I can pull of the dive."

"Alright, I'll get a Windwalker A and a chaser ready," Cid agreed. "Follow all commands and your flight path. From now on, you're all temporarily Nibel military personnel."

"Yes, Sir," Caden said as he stood up, saluted and left.

  
  


"Wind four reporting in," Caden spoke into his face mask radio. "Waypoint one reached, running for waypoint two at a heading of two forty and negative five. Speed is three hundred meters per second. Elevation is six thousand meters. E.T.A. for waypoint two, four minutes."

"How you holding up out there?" Cid asked over the intercom.

"Air's a little choppy, but nothing I can't handle," Caden calmly responded. "It feels sluggish though."

"Sorry, but we had it outfitted to have the same feel as your Windwalker," Cid's voice once again rolled out. "Alright, what are your stats?"

Caden checked the dials and displays on his control panel and HUD. "Five thousand kilograms of fuel, five kilograms of ether, six-hundred rounds, four snake-nest clusters, and two drop tanks. Flaps are down, aerials are closed, and stabilizers are operating within acceptable boundaries. Everything looks good up here."

"Good," Cid responded calmly. "What's your acceleration like?"

"Slower then I like, but not bad," Caden responded as brought the Windwalker level. "Bow, you getting this?"

"Yeah," Bowden responded over the intercom. "Don't worry, I'll be ready when it comes down to crunch time."

"Does it sound like I'm worried?" Caden asked, unsure as to weather that was what he sounded like. "I'm really not, you know."

"I know, but you sound like you are," Bowden responded. "Just relax and you'll be able to pull it off."

"Listen to him, Caden," Cid's voice once again took over the intercom. "The kid knows what he's talking about."

Caden continued to guide the plane forward as he absorbed what was said. "I know, but it's still good to have him around to kick me in the ass. The only way I'll ever remember." Caden began to bank the plane to the right while gently pulling back. "Waypoint two reached, running for waypoint three at a heading of one sixty and fifteen. Speed is three hundred ten meters per second. Elevation is five-thousand six hundred seventy two meters."

"Ok, good. You may begin the exercise at any moment," Cid said without delay. "Bowden, don't lose him."

"Roger that," Bowden said. "He's four-hundred meters off my one."

"Oh, so that's where you are," Caden said. "I thought I lost you four kilometers back."

"Nope, been on your tail the entire time," Bowden said again. "Now stop stalling and start stalling!"

"Right," Caden said as he adjusted some of his instruments. "Lame Aquila maneuver test, trial one." Immediately, Caden yawled the Windwalker far to the left and cut the power to the engines. His plane began to free fall through the air. The HUD and several of the internal displays began to flash red warnings as alarms blared throughout the cockpit.

"Caden, pull out!" Cid ordered after the Windwalker dropped several hundred meters.

"I'm having some trouble here," Caden said as he struggled with the control stick. "The controls are freezing on me."

"Bowden, follow him!" Cid yelled out frantically on the intercom. Had Caden seen him at that moment, he would be ghost white dripping with a cold sweat.

"I'm on him," Bowden responded.

"Caden, hard left, now!" Cid once again commanded. "Get yourself the fuck out of that!"

By this time, Caden had already dropped a kilometer, but he was still having trouble with the controls, but he did not let that affect his emotions. After much difficulty, Caden was able to force the stick to the left, and began to level out the Windwalker. "Ok, I have it now. Everything's fine now. None of the systems seem to be affected at all."

Caden could hear the sigh of relief that Cid gave and could almost feel the color returning to the old pilot's face. "Ok, good. Don't do that to me again. Do you really want me to have a fucking heart attack?" Caden knew that Cid was joking, so did not feel like he needed to respond to it. "Alright, Caden, Bowden, bring it in. We need you in good shape for tomorrow."

  
  


It was early in the evening and Caden was out watching a rocket as it prepared to lift off. Other then the company of Swift, he was alone. The Windwalker B was prepped for the next day's flight, but Caden was still a little apprehensive. A lot had happened since that day almost two month ago, and now he was prepared to make history in the morning. "You know, pal, I'm kinda worried about tomorrow. We've been in some tough scrapes, but this... This is bigger then anything I've even studied."

Swift 'warked,' but it had a tone of concern to it. Even though he was sometimes a jerk of a chocobo, Swift did care deeply for Caden. It may seem odd to hear, but that was how it was.

"Thanks, Swift," Caden said as he scratched the back of his chocobo's head. "You've always been a good friend. When I get back, how bout we just find some uncharted plain, and see what's out there?"

Swift 'warked' in agreement.

"So what do you think the satellite on that rocket is for?" Caden asked, knowing full well that Swift would not be able to respond to the question in a meaningful way. "I know. You probably don't care, but for some odd reason, I do. Dunno, might just be Father's influence on me."

Swift 'warked' again as he let Caden rant.

"Nah, maybe it's just in me,"Caden said as he lay back. The stars were beginning to come out one by one, but the light from the base drowned out most of them. He stayed like that for a few minutes and just let thoughts pass through his mind.

"You know, there are beds here," Marlene said after sneaking up on Caden.

Caden did not move, but rather relaxed even more. "Yeah, but those cots give me a strained neck."

Marlene could see right through Caden's sudden mask of humor. "You're worried about the mission too?"

Caden sat up. "Yeah, and I'm trying not to think about it." Caden offered the seat next to him to Marlene, and she accepted. "Do you know what they're launching?" Caden asked as he pointed at the rocket that was preparing to fly.

"I think someone said something about a spy satellite being launched," Marlene responded as she watched the still motionless space vehicle. "You think that thing's going to help us?"

"Maybe, but it's really comes down to us, doesn't it," Caden said, but Marlene laughed. Caden could not figure out what he said that was so funny. "What?"

Marlene was still laughing, but managed to respond to Caden's last question. "We have to stop answering each other with another question."

Caden laughed as well, knowing that was what just happened and has happened for a number of years. "I guess we question everything. Don't we?"

"You know it's not funny anymore," Marlene said while still laughing.

"So why are you still laughing?" Caden said, but was not laughing anymore.

Marlene stopped laughing. "You know, you just killed the whole thing."

"I know," Caden said still smiling.

Marlene became somber though. "You had us worried today when you went into the death spin. We thought you were gonna crash."

"I didn't though, and I don't ever plan to, Mar," Caden said, trying to reassure Marlene. "We'll make our mark in Midgar."

Marlene was not convinced. She watched in horror as Caden attempted to pull off the stunt and almost fail. It would not be something that she would forget so easily, even if it was only a few seconds out of a life time. "Still... you could have." Marlene wore her fears and concerns on her face as plain as day. Caden could see her pain, and gently put his arm around her shoulder, if for nothing more then just support. Marlene moved closer to Caden, taking up his offer of support. The stars were now out in force, staring down at the planet. It was beautiful yet innocent scene with both Caden and Marlene caught deep in the middle of it. Almost like clock work, their eyes slowly met and became caught in each other's gaze. Even the soft green glow of Caden's eyes was like the gentle light of the stars. Time seemed to slow as their lips moved closer together, but it was not to be. The roar of the rocket's engine broke to once peaceful silence, as well as Caden and Marlene's trance like gaze. They both felt awkward as they sat there. "Umm... It's getting late," Marlene said, trying to break the tension.

"Yeah... We have an early day tomorrow," Caden said, also trying to avoid the obvious.

Marlene got up and began to move towards the barracks. "Well, good night, Commander."

Caden stayed where he was and watched as Marlene walked away. "Yeah... night."


	10. Lame Aquila

Chapter 9: Lame Aquila

  
  


"Hey, Caden, you ready for this?" Bowden asked while Caden was suiting up in his flight gear. Bowden was garbed in similar gear, but some of his patches were different. As both Caden and Bowden were trained in piloting Windwalkers and because they were now part of the Nibel Air Force, they both had ranks to indicate such. "Or should I say 'Commander'?" Bowden asked again, referring to the rank patch on Caden's left sleeve.

"Do I need to start calling rank, Lieutenant?" Caden jokingly asked. "Relax, Bow, the ranks are just for the bureaucrats. They can't exactly sign over a multi billion gil aircraft to some civilians. This just justifies it to the Council of Lords and Commons. Chancellor Valor's already taking slack for signing over the Air Command to the I.U. Hell, they're talking recall here."

"I don't think this is the time to start talking politics, Caden," Bowden said in hopes to derail Caden from his current focus. "You need to focus on getting us to Junon and then to Midgar. Now stop trying to avoid the obvious. We need you at the top of your game."

"You're right. I have to focus," Caden confessed still tugging on his gauntlet. "It's just everything that's been going on has been s little overwhelming." Caden pulled the helmet with his callsign out of the locker in front of him, and closed it. "But I can't dwell on it. I need you and Mar to keep me focused, ok?"

"Don't worry, we will," Bowden responded, putting his hand on Caden's shoulder. "Just try to make our job little easier."

Caden laughed. "No promises. Now let's get out their. Our bird waits."

  
  


"All pilots report to your Windwalkers. Repeat, all pilots report to your Windwalkers," A voice spoke out over the PA system. "Highwind crew, report to field seven for you duty assignments. This is not a drill. Squadrons Fire, Wind, Water, and Earth will launch in ten minutes."

"You heard the announcement. Wind Squadron, time to fly!" Captain Kazinski said as he snapped his helmet on. The word 'Monsoon' was written in red on left side of the helmet. "Kaze, Noreast, you're up front with me. Typhoon, Twister, watch our six."

"Yes, Sir!" Caden and the others responded before scrambling for their fighters. Caden ran up to his modified Windwalker B and met up with Marlene, Bowden, and Sephiroth. "Alright, guys. We have our orders. We're flying up front. How's the retrofit?"

"The cabin's a tight fit for four, but all the restraints are set and there's still enough room for me and Sephiroth," Marlene responded. "You and Bow better keep us up."

"Don't worry. Caden won't wig out on me," Bowden said, opening the side fuselage door normally used for fire control access. Inside were four seats in a cramped compartment, each with it's own restraints. Marlene entered first followed by Sephiroth. The only light in the cabin came from an opening behind Caden's seat in the cockpit, and that was all the light that they would get while in flight. After Marlene and Sephiroth had secured themselves inside the Windwalker, Bowden closed and secured the hatch. "You ready?"

"Let's fly," Caden said enthusiastically. The two knocked their helmets together and climbed to their seats. Inside, they set their restraints and Caden began the pre-flight tests. "Everything checks out, but there's a problem with the fire control system," Caden said, joking about the last part.

"Gee, I wonder why," Bowden said sarcastically. "So we ready?"

"As soon as Monsoon gives us the go, yes," Caden replied and finished the pre-flight tests. After configuring a few settings on his control panel, the HUD popped up on the canopy and the whole plane began to fill with the sound of the engines. "Well, now we're ready on Monsoon's word."

They did not wait long for the Wind Leader to call out on the intercom. "Wind Squadron, time to fly. Follow me and stay at eighty-percent power." Caden signaled to the crews just outside the Windwalker to clear away. 

When the all clear was given, Caden gently guided the plane up. "Wind Two, airborne," he said into the face-mask com system. The Windwalker continued to rise with little trouble. "So far, so good, Bow."

"Don't jinx us until we get back here Caden," Bowden said with light humor. "Fire control is now going through me."

"Ok, now I'm worried," Caden jested, now feeling a lot more relaxed then before, but not enough to forget his apprehension.

"Are you both going to be like this for the entire flight?" Sephiroth yelled up through the small opening the connected the cabin to the cockpit.

"It's either this or the in flight movie, and trust me, it sucks," Caden said while setting the throttle to match Monsoon's. "So just sit back and enjoy the show. We'll land in Junon, refuel, and then it's show time."

"And here I thought we'd be bored for the next few hours," Marlene said with a laugh.

"Well then, sit back and enjoy the show," Caden responded, steering the aircraft south-east. "Ok, we're at our cruising speed and altitude. You guys can move around a little... Well, as much as you can. Junon Harbor's a few hours at this speed, so stretch out if you can. Otherwise, try and relax."

  
  


"Nibel Aircraft, you have entered Junon airspace. State your flight status and destination," an air traffic controller said over the intercom.

"Nibel Air Command flagship Highwind with four squadrons of Windwalkers heading for Junon Harbor's air strip," Cid responded in compliance. "Flight status should have been cleared with JSO under I.U. Charter article five. Our flight plan number is A Four Seven Nine NAC to Junon."

There was a moment of silence while the air traffic controller checked his records. "Nibel Flight group, proceed with your flight path to Junon Harbor. Be warned that any deviation will be treated as an act of aggression."

"Alright everyone, you heard the man. Stay on course!" Cid commanded all the Windwalker pilots. "When we reach Junon Harbor, land in your squadrons. We'll refuel and take off from there."

"Hey, Kaze, you still with us?" Monsoon asked over the intercom.

"Yeah, I'm still with you," Caden responded immediately. Despite his best efforts, Caden was still a little distracted from the mission.

"Never got a chance to meet you on the ground. This your first mission?" Monsoon asked.

"Yeah. Just graduated from Wutai," Caden responded while he prepared for his landing procedure.

"Ah, that's right. You're the guy who banked the Highwind at two hundred," Monsoon said, much to Caden's dismay.

Caden and Bowden looked at each other in surprise. "Wait a minute! How many people know about that?" 

Monsoon laughed while his wingmen called in to say that they knew. "The Admiral had pictures of you up all around the base for the month. He had an unofficial order to drag your ass down if you got within fifty meters of the Highwind. Sorry, kid, every pilot up here knows your little secret."

"Great," Caden sarcastically responded. "What's our approach vector?"

"Fire's going down first, then us," Monsoon replied after second. "Your heading should be one twenty and negative ten. Approach at under one-fifty meters per second."

"Copy that," Caden said before turning off the com system. "Mar, Sephiroth, strap in and don't scream. We'll be landing in Junon Harbor in a few minutes." With that said, Caden turned the com system back on.

"Nibel Aircraft, give your squadron name and number for landing assignment," the air traffic controller said over the intercom.

"Wind Two reporting in," Caden responded while continuing to guide the plane forward.

"Wind Two, you are cleared for landing on the south approach. Stay with your squadron," the air traffic controller responded.

"Making approach from vector one twenty and negative five at ninety-five meters per second," Caden said while setting up his flaps and landing gear.

"Hey, Caden, you want me to take over?" Bowden asked. "You've been at the controls for hours. You've got to be tired."

"Great timing, Bow," Caden sarcastically responded. "Most of the work's done."

Bowden looked back and shrugged. "Hey, it's the thought that counts."

Caden rolled his eyes. "Yeah, just make sure the nose is up. Otherwise, you'll be the first killed."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Bowden shot back when he took control of the Windwalker. "You relax. The 'game' hasn't even started yet." Caden tried to do so while Bowden took over all the plane controls. "Damn, this thing is sluggish."

"Hey, if you flew the plane I was putting around in yesterday, you'd be ready for it," Caden said while laughing.

"That's the thing," Bowden said with serious tone. "The plane I was chasing you in was set up the same way."

"Is it going to affect us in a fight?" Caden asked, knowing full well that it would not.

"No, I don't think so," Bowden responded unceremoniously. "It's still weird." Bowden continued to guide the Windwalker in. The approach into Junon Harbor was simple, there was a steady west wind blowing and there were no air pockets to effect the flight. The eventual touchdown was equally steady. The moment Bowden shut down the engines and electrical systems. Aircraft technicians came up to the Windwalker and attached two separate hoses to the underside of the plane. While the crews worked, Bowden and Caden hurried down their ladders to the deck below and let Marlene and Sephiroth out of the hidden cabin.

They all moved around a bit while the crews worked on the Windwalkers and the Highwind. Caden stayed close to the Windwalker, but seemed like his mind was a thousand kilometers away. "It's time, isn't it? Time to see if I'm the one or if I just got lucky a couple of times."

Do not discourage, A distant and pained voice said. You will be our salvation. Caden looked around but could see no one. It was as if the air itself was speaking, but with great suffering. Do not be afraid, for you know me.

"Aeris?" Caden asked completely without thought.

No, but she is of me, as are all her ancestors, the voice said again, then silenced.

Marlene walked up behind Caden, still trying to make sense of his encounter. "Who were you talking to?" she asked. She did not overhear the voice. "Never mind that. The Windwalker's refueled, and Monsoon's ready to take off." Marlene looked at Caden, because something did not seem right. "Hey, Caden, you alright? You look like you just saw a ghost... Well one you don't know on a first name basis."

Caden gently shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He now thought that he knew who or what the voice belonged to, but was still unsure. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"Well, just try to keep it together until we're back here," Marlene said, leading Caden back to the Windwalker.

  
  


"Ok, we just cleared the Provoka Mountains, so stay alert!" Cid's scratchy voice commanded over the intercom. "All squadron leaders, report in!" Each of the squadron leaders reported in their callsigns and squadrons. "The target will be in range within a five minutes. All pilots, check your weapons and set up for your attack runs. The ground units are in position and ready to attack once the initial air strikes are complete."

"You heard the Admiral, Bow. Get our weapons and tracking up," Caden said while he took the Windwalker of autopilot. Their flight took them over the gradually dying earth that led to Midgar. Even the rich colors of the stone seemed to fade to black. The sky darkened with clouds the closer they flew to their target. A sense of not death, but of non-existence permeated the air like a foul stench. "So this is the triumph of Shinra..." Caden said, trailing off at the end. He was now in visual range of the forbidden Mako city, and could see the trails of mist coming from the reactors. The distant spire like silhouette of a sky scraper almost seemed to beacon the small aircraft. It was like a ghost of steel wandering a sea of stone. "Geez, that thing's huge! Bow, you ready?"

"Yeah," Bowden responded, still adjusting his equipment. "What about you?"

Caden looked down at the ground and could see multiple artillery units and soldiers. "Yeah, I'm ready. We'll be in range soon so stay on your toes."

"Gotcha'," Bowden responded then finished his adjustments. "Fire control is ready."

"Tiger and leopard stalk prey," Cid said over the intercom before Caden could say anything.

"Tiger is stalking," Fire Leader Inferno said as his squadron pulled away from the main group.

"Leopard is stalking," Earth Leader Rockhound said while his squadron followed Fire. The Highwind followed suit and began to drop missile clusters. Several projectiles flew from the main missile and arched around their direct path. Soon, similar missiles began to fly from the Windwalkers.

"Fire two, snake four," Fire Two announced over the intercom.

"Earth one, snake two," Earth Leader Rockhound announced. Each time one of the planes fired a cluster missile, they would announce their squadron, number, and missile's number.

"Command ship, we're taking fire from sectors four and six," Inferno said calmly yet with confidence. "The prey is wounded." With that announcement the Windwalkers of Fire and Earth squadron retreated from Midgar.

"Fire and Earth, return to the nest," Cid commanded while the Highwind pulled back followed the Windwalkers out. "Ground crews, it's up to you now. Take out those anti-aircraft weapons."

"Understood, Admiral Highwind," a voice said over the intercom followed by artillery fire from far below. Caden watched the streaks of fire fly towards the besieged fortress city and the resultant explosions that lit the otherwise dark skies. "Artillery strikes are going as planned. Their defenses are down at the sectors two, three, six, and eight gates. Shinobi no Kami is in position and ready to infiltrate on your word."

"Good, send in the ground teams and tell them to stick to ranged weapons," Cid responded calmly, although with a sense of satisfaction of how well the plan was proceeding. Caden on the other hand thought it seemed too easy. "Crane and snake on hunt," Cid commanded, queuing Caden to follow his wing leader in the strike.

"Snake is hunting," Water Leader Tsunami said as he lead his squadron towards Midgar.

Caden waited patiently, but he could not shake the uneasy feeling he had. In a matter of seconds, he would be involved in aerial combat with ground based anti-aircraft guns. Caden swallowed his apprehension and waited for the word. "Crane is hunting," Monsoon said and began to pull away.

Caden followed but turned off his intercom so he could speak freely to everyone in the Windwalker. "Ok, everyone. Here we go."

"We're counting on you, Caden," Marlene said while holding on to her restraints.

"Just remember that you are as good as everyone says, and you will be able to land us safely," Sephiroth said in a rare moment of encouragement.

"WARK" a chocobo said from out of no where.

Caden looked ahead in shock and confusion. "Swift!? How the hell did you get in here?"

"Caden, we can't worry about that now," Bowden said with urgency. "We'll have to bring him in with us. Anyway, he could help me out."

"Alright, we really don't have a choice," Caden reluctantly conceded. "Just stay still back there." Swift 'warked' in agreement and Caden again turned on his intercom.

"Wind squadron, commence attack," Monsoon commanded. Soon after, the five aircraft group began to fire their missile clusters and announcing their attacks to the other planes in the group. The Windwalkers fired their missiles and dodged gunfire from Midgar. The deadly dance continued even after Wind squadron joined Water.

"I have a lock," Bowden said so that Caden could steadied the Windwalker. "Wind two, snake three." The missile cluster dropped a few meters and burst into twenty or so smaller projectiles that streaked away from the aircraft. The swarm of missiles hit their target seconds later in a spectacular flare over Sector Six. "Dead on!"

"Nice shot, Bow," Caden commented ecstatically. An anti-aircraft battery caught sight of the Windwalker and began to fire. Caden was forced to dodge a stream of fire, but did so with ease. "Try and target that Triple A between Sector Five and Sector Six."

"I have it in sight," Bowden said with a slight grin. Its fire rate was fairly high and did not seem to aim at any particular fighter. Caden began guide the Windwalker closer to streaks of bullets while trying not to get hit.

"Kaze, the rest of us are out of snakes," Monsoon said over the intercom. "We'll cover you as much as we can until you're out."

"Gotcha'," Caden responded immediately. He and Bowden locked onto the anti-aircraft battery. "Wind two, snake two." The missile fired just before the stream swept near the right wing. Taking the opportunity, Caden hit a switch on his panel. The fire stream narrowly missed the wing where the smoke generator was set, but Caden's timing was impeccable. The generator flared to life, and Caden pitched the plane far to the right. "This is Wind Two, we've been hit. Our right wing is damaged and we're leaking fuel." The Windwalker began to fall into a death spin towards Sector Five of Midgar.

"Kaze, pull out!" Monsoon yelled out with an urgent voice.

"I think my controls are fried. They aren't responding," Caden said, trying to sound panicked. "Our ejection system isn't responding either." That was the last thing Caden said before shutting off his com system and dropping the external fuel tanks.

  
  


"Wind Two, respond! Wind Two, do you copy," Cid yelled into the microphone of his com unit. He was responded to by only static. "All aircraft, Lame Aquila. Repeat, Lame Aquila. All squadrons return to the nest."

"Copy that, Admiral," Monsoon responded right before the sound of metal hitting the side of his Windwalker could be heard. "What the hell!? Admiral, I've been hit on my right main fuel tank, but there's no damage."

"WHAT!?" Cid yelled back into the microphone.

"They're using blanks," Monsoon said, still surprised by his lack of damage. "We just walked the kid into a trap."

  
  


A man watched the battle from a window in the central tower of Midgar and seemed pleased with how it was proceeding. He could see Caden's Windwalker make the maneuver into Sector Five and the flash from the exploding fuel tanks. The explosions that continued around the ring of Midgar illuminated the dreary ruins of the city. He continued to watch in the unlit room not acknowledging the man that stood behind him. The man in the back appeared to battle worn and tested. His eyes glowed with an unholy amber light. "Sir, our outer defenses have been breached. Can you please tell me why it is so necessary to fire blank shells at the enemy?"

The man watching the battle did not move, but rather stared more intently at the ensuing conflict. "No, Lenox. You are a soldier and should be quite accustomed to the concept of 'need to know'. Right now, you don't need to know."

Lenox was no less then upset at the man's lack of candidness. "How am I supposed to command my men if I don't know the whole story? And what about the report of the crashed Windwalker in Sector Five?"

"That is of no concern of yours," the man said sharply. It was obvious to Lenox that the man did not want anyone to disturb the potential wreckage. "Tell your men to reinforce Sectors Two, Three, and Eight."

"Yes, Sir," Lenox reluctantly said. There was no point in arguing with the man, as it was not at all unreasonable since those sectors had been invaded. Without saying another word, Lenox left the man to watch the battle unfold.

"Were you there long?" the man said without moving while another man stepped out of the shadows. The unknown man's eyes glowed green, providing little light to the room.

"I heard it all," the man with green eyes said, walking further into the room. "I don't understand why you keep that fossil around."

"Because, he commands the respect of the troops," the man responded calmly. "It will not matter long, though."

The green eyed man leaned against an upright support. "Is it because of the roboguards they repaired or are they simply obsolete?"

"Neither," the man said while closing his eyes to ponder. "He's here." The man opened his eyes again only for them to glow yellow. "It's time for you to meet your brother."

"Yes, Father" the green eyed man responded and left the room.


	11. Sector Six

Chapter 10: Sector Six

  
  


There was a calm in forgotten ruins of the once spectacular metropolis. Specters of the past lurked in the facade of each still standing building, while the broken skeletons of other structures lay scattered across the ground. Nothing moved in this once bustling city but roaches and a few stray animals. Even the wind seemed to have died in the clearings. The triumph of Shinra was nothing more then broken dreams and memories. It was here that his journey would begin.

"Caden! You kick ass!" Bowden exclaimed in a jubilant and euphoric manner. Caden was able to navigate through the maneuver with far less trouble then he first had. It was clear to everyone that he made a convincing show, throwing off any potential assailants.

Caden began leveling the Windwalker out over a clearing between two of Midgar's large Mako Reactors. "Please don't yell, Bow. I have a headache from the spinning." After performing the routine pre-landing procedures, Caden set the plane down with little more then a slight bump. "We have reached our final destination, Midgar. Population, one less 'crisis from the skies' once were through."

"Who died and made you tour guide?" Marlene rhetorically asked. Caden did not respond at all, but rather looked back at Marlene questioningly. Marlene smiled, and tried to look as innocent as she could. "Well, you going to let us out or not?"

"You gonna quit it with the stupid comments?" Caden immediately asked.

"Hell no," Marlene responded promptly. "What'd be the fun in that?"

Caden opened the cockpit canopy and removed his restraints. "Just checking." Before exiting the plane, Caden removed his helmet and put his hair back into its normal pony tail. Bowden reached the ground first and walked over to the hatch that would release Marlene, Sephiroth, and Swift. No one could figure out how the chocobo could fit through the narrow hatch, but at that moment, the question was trivial. Right now, the five of them were deep in hostile territory with no escape. Swift was stuck with them for the duration of the mission. "Alright, we only have a few hours to complete this mission," Caden said charismatically. "The Windwalker should be fine here. Bow, Swift, take out those reactors, but avoid as much combat as you can. When you return to the Windwalker, wait until we return or after five hours, whichever happens first. Mar, Sephiroth, you're with me. Mar, we'll need you to take out distant targets we can't get around. Sephiroth, we'll need your unique knowledge of the city." Caden pointed to the tower in the distant shadows. "Our target is in that building, somewhere. Sephiroth, do you have any idea where Jenova would be?"

"Do you ask for my opinion as someone with knowledge of the building or the beast?" Sephiroth asked, unsure of the true nature of Caden's query.

Caden shrugged, as he thought the question was straight forward. "I guess both. Right now, you are the most knowledgeable person alive when it comes to Jenova."

"In that case, probably the sixty-sixth floor," Sephiroth said assuredly. "It is the highest floor with a view. As far as I can tell, the floors above sixty-six are either too damaged or missing altogether. Jenova is the type that would want to see everything."

"That means he probably knows a plane went down," Caden said, concerned with this development. "Let's hope he doesn't know it was a hoax." Caden picked his sword up from out of the plane and secured it to his back. "Alright, everyone. Let's move."

Bowden carefully took his pack and daggers from the plane, securing both to him. "Caden, you, Mar, and Sephiroth take care. Swift and I will have this place nice and dark soon enough." Bowden walked over to Swift, but the chocobo was hesitant to go anywhere that Caden was not.

Caden saw that Swift was reluctant to leave him. "Swift, Bow needs your help. Helping Bow will help me. Ok?" Swift "warked" his response, agreeing to follow Bowden. He was obviously not happy with the decision, but Swift was willing to do it for Caden. "Good. Take care of him." Swift "warked" again, in his way giving his word to Caden. "Ok everyone, we're all going back home after this. Non of you are allowed to break my promise. Got it?"

"Shit, I'm not staying in this hell hole longer then I have to," Bowden responded first. "And I'll make sure Swift comes along for the ride."

Marlene nodded, determined to return with everyone else. "I'm not dying here."

"What about you, Sephiroth?" Caden asked, turning to the old general. "Are you going to break my promise or not?"

Sephiroth closed his eyes. "I do not make promises unless I know I can keep them. This is not some exercise. The enemy is using real bullets and blades, and Jenova's power is greater then anything ever seen on this world. Even if it is just sitting in a tube..." Sephiroth looked at Marlene and Bowden, seeing the unease he had instilled in them by his words, and changed his tact. "Hold onto your perception, that may be the only thing that will save you from him."

"Ok, then I'll have to make sure you come back with us," Caden replied, unfazed by Sephiroth's grim outlook. "We'll make it back here before time runs out. Now let's move out before some sentry comes after us."

  
  


Caden, Marlene, and Sephiroth trekked through the ruins of sector six with little interference. What little there had been were just small patrols that they were able side step. Much to the surprise of Caden, there were very few human patrols. Most of what they encountered were old security robots from the Shinra days. There was only one unit that had a human combatant, but he seemed to be more of a technician then a warrior. They had passed by the halfway point when they came across a single human sentry blocking the only passage. Caden ducked behind a pile of rubble while Marlene and Sephiroth found cover as well. "Mar, you think you can take him out?"

Marlene did not wait for Caden to finish before nocking an arrow. Standing up and aiming quickly, Marlene fired the shot through the sentry's helmet. The sentry was dead before he hit the ground. "Yes," Marlene said confidently, not turning to address Caden.

"Umm... nice shot, Mar," Caden said, rising from his position. He scanned the debris field that was once a residential center. The crumbling facade of buildings surrounded Caden, but there was not much else. Marlene had taken the opportunity of silence to walk down to the dead sentry and relieve him of his weapon and ammunition. "Mar, what are you doing?"

"I only have so many arrows," Marlene responded, slinging the riffle around her shoulder and placing the clips in her quiver. "If we get into a fire fight, I'll run out pretty damn quickly. At least this way ammo is easier to find."

Caden contemplated what she was saying, finally concluding she was right. "Alright, but the idea is stealth. We can't afford a fight out in the open." Caden looked about the ruins around him, spying to see whether it was safe to move. "Sephiroth, how far is the entrance to the tower?"

Sephiroth pointed in towards the center of the city. "Just over a kilometer in that direction. If the infrastructure surrounding the tower is in tact, there will be a check point two-hundred meters from a tunnel leading to the sector six entrance. It will likely be guarded."

"Alright then, we'll have to stay on our toes there," Caden said, trying to contemplate the best coarse of action from that point. "For now, let's just move on."

  
  


Cold and stagnant air permeated the metal catacombs of Mako Rector I after so many years of being unoccupied. Despite the dark and dank casket of the building, Bowden was in astonishment. He had always been studious to learn every little detail about the Midgar Reactors, but never thought he would ever see the inside of the planetary succubae. Bowden was beside himself with awe as well for the ancient scars from the last attack on this facility. Now he would follow in the example of AVALANCHE and plant a bomb in the heart of the Mako Fusion Unit. The resulting explosion would optimally level the mass of steal and crystal materia. "So this is where AVALANCHE made themselves known..." Bowden said under his breath in utter amazement. In his pack, Bowden still carried over a kilogram of explosive. He walked swiftly and silently through the shadows, trying to create as little noticeability to him as humanly possible. He was alone, deep in enemy territory with only one escape. He needed to be quick and almost invisible. After much shadow walking, Bowden made it to the heart of the reactor. "Ok this is it. Now where is the... ah, there it is." Bowden moved his hand along a pipe connecting to a larger container. Taking a small amount of the explosives, Bowden secured it with a radio controlled device to where the pipe and the container connected.

Finish with his work on the container, Bowden stood and looked at the old reactor. Along the gantry and the walls were the charred remains of the previous reactor, destroyed twenty one years before. However, something on the reactor caught his eye. "Wait a minute... What the hell's up with these values? It doesn't make any sense..., but it's not important now." Again, Bowden took to the shadows in order to escape.

Back outside of the reactor, Bowden ducked behind a pile of rubble and whistled. From behind another pile of rubble, Swift bounded out. Bowden quickly mounted the young chocobo and spurred him on. "Alright, four down. Let's get this done. I hope you didn't have any unwanted company." Swift 'warked' and Bowden noticed a few chewed wires in the chocobo's mouth. "I guess you did have company." Swift 'warked' again, and the two sped towards the next reactor in silence.

  
  


"There it is. The Sector Six checkpoint," Sephiroth said, pointing to the lightly guarded outpost. Beyond the checkpoint by about two hundred meters was the tunnel that led to the tower.

"Well, a direct assault now would be a bad idea and snipping them isn't an option," Caden said, assessing the situation. "So how do we get in?" The three stood where they were, trying to decide a course of action.

Without warning, the guards began to take defensive positions. "I don't think that's a problem anymore," Marlene said in light of the guards' behavior. "Do you think they spotted us?"

"No, that's why," Caden said, continuing to watch the scene unfold. The guards opened fire at what looked like a lightly armored man wielding two swords. One of the blades held behind him like normal, but the other looked as if it were a part of his fore arm. With speed and agility, the man dodged the guards' fire and struck two of them with his blades. They were killed instantly by the strike. Several other guards heard the commotion and came to replace their fallen comrades. The man easily dispatched them as well. His skill withe the two blades was comparable to that of Caden or Sephiroth, both of whom watched intently. Wave after wave of sentries fell to the slash of the blades of the man in their vain attempt to contain him. The remaining sentries began to back off as a new figure approached the stranger. From their position, Caden could see that it was a woman, but the left half of her face and her left arm were completely covered with a shawl. The man charged at the woman, but he was stopped short of his target by a bright green flash and sent flying backwards to the ground. "What the hell?" Caden asked in complete surprise.

Sephiroth smirked at Caden's remark. "Precisely." Caden was confused by the old general's remark. "That would be Hel."

"What?" Marlene ask, caught off guard by Sephiroth's conclusion. "You mean that woman is one of Jenova's guardians?"

Sephiroth prepared Masamune and checked his materia. "Yes. It is Jenova's guardian Hel. She looks appears to be a formidable magic user." Armed with Masamune, Sephiroth stood ready to charge. "We need to help him. Besides, the guardian cannot remain alive."

"You're right," Caden concurred, preparing to attack as well. "Sephiroth and I will go help him. Mar, give us some cover fire." Marlene checked the riffle she procured earlier from the sentry and set her materia as well. Armed and ready, Marlene took to a sniping position, leaving Caden and Sephiroth rush down and assist the mysterious man.

"Just watch your back. We do not know if he is friend or foe," Sephiroth cautioned. The two flanked the stranger and readied to fight.

The man looked over his two new companions, trying to make sense of their appearance. "Who are you?" he asked Caden, but still readied himself to attack the strange woman in his mist. "Are you one of them?"

"Don't worry, we're allies," Caden said, much to the man's relief. "We'll take out this thing first and talk later. Is that alright with you?"

The man took a stance where his backwards handed sword was in front of him and his normal handed sword was behind him. "Sounds fine to me."

The creature laughed at the sight. "You would sacrifice yourself for a pathetic creature whom you do not know? How foolish. It is no wonder why my master has been able to control your kind like dogs." Caden was startled by the development. He had never thought that a guardian of Jenova would be able to have free will, let alone speak so freely. Hel looked at Caden and saw the young man's surprise. "What? You find it hard to believe I am more then a puppet? Well Sephiroth knows better. Don't you, Sephiroth?" Hel faced Sephiroth with seemingly demonic eyes.

Caden looked at Sephiroth, waiting for a response. "Yes, Mala. I do know differently," Sephiroth said cold yet defiantly. Much to Caden's surprise, Sephiroth knew Hel in a different light. Again, Caden waited for Sephiroth to explain. "During the Shinra days, Hojo had an assistant named Mala Nifel. She is the creature in front of us."

"How long did you know she was a guardian?" Caden asked with displeasure and suspicion. It seemed odd that he knew this 'woman' from years before and never said a word after fighting Fenir.

"Just now. I was not sure until she appeared here," Sephiroth said, not moving from his position. "So did Jenova send you to watch me all those years ago?"

Hel laughed at Sephiroth's query. "Foolish child. The truth is beyond your grasps. You shall never know it." Hel thrust her left hand out, forcing the shawl that covered her body to fly from her form. Beneath the cloth was a sickening mass of dead flesh and bone. While the right half of Hel was that of a vibrant and beautiful woman, her left half was that of a rotting corpse. "I cannot allow you to harm my master. Now is your time to die!" The power and voracity in Hel's voice rang throughout the ruins. There amidst the crumbling buildings of a once mighty corporation, Hel stood facing down Caden, Sephiroth, and the stranger. It was Hel who struck first, summoning a powerful gust of wind against Caden. Caden tried to resist the power of the gale, but he eventually fell back.

Rising to his feet again, Caden charged with his sword and struck Hel. However, about a meter before striking Hel, Caden noticed that he had to use twice as much of his strength to break through. Retreating back to his previous position, partially to keep some distance between him and the creature he fought, Caden watched the stranger strike with an equally useless attack. "Watch it! She has a barrier up," Caden said, keeping his cool. "Figures, and here I am without my destroy materia. Sephiroth, you have anything?"

Sephiroth shook his head. "No, I do not have anything to take out her barrier." Left with no other option, Sephiroth guided Masamune through the barrier, but without any significant damage caused. "What about you?" Sephiroth asked the stranger.

"I have a level three destroy materia equipped," the stranger said. "De-Barrier!" On the stranger's command, Hel's otherwise invisible barrier began to glow white. The blinding light soon appeared to shatter like glass. Hel was exposed.

Caden took the opportunity strike. His blade cut deep into Hel, but the wound healed much like Fenir's injuries. Hel laughed at Caden's attack. "Yet again proving you are but a child. I am immortal. It was a gift from my master long ago." Hel raised her arm and struck Caden into the stranger. "Sephiroth, child, why do you bother with these failed experiments. You could be so much more then this. So much more powerful. My master has always wanted as much for you."

"I am who I am, what is before you," Sephiroth responded. "Fire!!!" By Sephiroth's command, Hel was consumed by a massive inferno.

Hel's hideous laugh rang above the roar of the blaze. "I tried to warn you, I am immortal. I guess you must learn as they have." From the flames, Hel struck Sephiroth with her arm. Sephiroth was thrown back several meters by Hel's blow.

Caden watched Sephiroth being thrown down and prepared for his next attack. "Command the power of your ancestors, child of Ifalanoe," the mysterious voice that Caden had heard before said. "Command and Holy will serve you."

Hel approached Sephiroth, and picked him up. With her free arm, Hel began to thrust towards Sephiroth's heart. However, a single riffle shot to the head incapacitated Hel for a moment. Temporally injured, Hel dropped Sephiroth and stepped back until she healed. Marlene remained hidden, but now Hel knew she was there. Sephiroth staggered to his feet and looked at Caden. Taking the rare chance, Sephiroth yelled out to Caden, "Caden, Holy may be the only thing that will defeat Hel."

"I know," Caden responded, staring at Hel. Caden closed his eyes and began to concentrate on the sealed ability he needed to summon. He began to feel a surge of power enter him, much the same as when he fought Fenir. "Holy!" Without delay, the surge Caden felt entered through the hilt of his sword. The influence of Holy turned the steel of Caden's katana a glowing blue. "Everyone! Attack now!" As if by clockwork, Caden struck into Hel with a blue arch and moved out of the way in time for Sephiroth and the stranger to strike and fade. Hel, now weakened, staggered backwards, but was stopped by a volley of gunfire from Marlene.

Hel began to scream a blood curdling cry. Her immortality was at an end. "What have you done!? Master, I failed you!" In her compromised state, Hel's body began to turn to dust and ash. Eventually, only her bones were left, but even they disintegrated.

Exhausted, Caden turned to watch Marlene race towards him. With the four of them accounted for, Caden turned his attention to the stranger. "So who exactly are you and how the hell did you get here?"

The stranger stepped back and sheathed his two swords. Now that they were no longer in direct combat with anyone, Caden could see the two swords were of Wutai design. One being katana length and the other a wakizashi. "The name's Loki Hojo." Sephiroth stared at the stranger upon hearing the name, but said nothing. "I came here to find an escaped scientific sample known as Jenova," Loki continued. "I'm to destroy it after collecting a cell sample. I entered in a few days ago, hiding in a transport. Up until a few hours ago, I had no trouble getting around. Then the friggin' Wutai-Shinra war started up again all around me. I spent the last few hours fighting off armed resistance." Loki stared down Caden, Sephiroth, and Marlene. "So I guess I will ask you the same thing. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"I'm Commander Strife of the Nibel Air Command. With me are Lieutenant Commander Wallace and Lieutenant Commander Capulet," Caden said, pointing to Marlene and Sephiroth respectively. "Our aircraft crash landed in Sector Six and we are trying to escape through the central tower."

Loki turned and looked up at the tower before him. "Unfortunately, the emergency elevators in the tower are locked. Only top Shinra executives ever had access to it." Loki once again turned to face the others. "You will have to override the security on the fifty-ninth floor. I have a code that should override the security, but I will need your help destroying Jenova before I can enter it. The code will work only once and is only effective for a few minutes."

Although the answer was obviously 'yes' to Loki's request, Caden still had to make it look like he was only trying to escape Midgar. "You're asking us to defy orders to escape a hostile situation by going after someone's sick science experiment?" Caden asked, convincingly angered by such a request. "My duty is to my crew and my nation."

"If that's the case, then you should help me," Loki said, changing his tact in convincing Caden. "I'm going after Jenova before I enter the code. If I die, the code goes with me. Your only choice is to help me. Besides, we're talking about some nasty shit here. This thing is a major threat to the world. My father was trying to figure out a way to permanently contain it and others of it's kind."

"Hold on, are you trying to tell me there are more of them out there?" Caden asked in surprise.

"Yeah, all the former members of SOLDIER are at risk of becoming like Jenova," Loki said with utter seriousness. "If any of them turn, we need to be able to put them down."

Caden thought for a moment. Like it or not, it made sense. Now he was worried for Cloud and the other former members of SOLDIER. It did not cross his mind immediately that he to could turn into a creature like Jenova. "Alright, we'll help you destroy Jenova. However, judging by how quick Hel disintegrated, you will have to be quick to get the sample you need."

"We better hurry then," Loki said, pointing again to the tower. "From what I know, the most likely place Jenova is hiding is at the top of the tower. It's the perfect place for it to watch everything within the city."

Caden looked up the tower, trying to size up the best way to get in, but he could not. Turning instead to Loki, Caden motioned for him to take the lead. " Lead the way, Loki."


	12. Cetrae Angelus

Note: I do not own the rights to Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy VII, any of the original characters, places, or situations of the said games. These are properties of Square Enix, a really great company. Now, I really should have put this disclaimer up a while ago.

Chapter 11: Cetrae Angelus

"The former Shinra headquarters..." Caden said solemnly. "So we've finally arrived." Caden looked at his new ally. "Loki, remember our deal."

"You think I want to stick around longer then I have to?" Loki asked hastily in response. "I'm outta here as soon as I get what I need. I suggest you follow." Although it seemed a little threatening, Loki's voice was that of slight anxiety. Caden concluded that this was probably Loki's first time in war like conditions, and that he was still anxious. Loki looked at Caden, as if sensed his analyzing. "I'm not some damn rookie. I know what I'm doing," Loki said very defensively.

"I never said you were one," Caden said trying to diffuse the situation. Caden still thought that Loki was in over his head, but said nothing more about it. Instead, Caden turned to Sephiroth. "What would be our best point of entry?"

"Since we have already been detected," Sephiroth glared accusingly at Loki, and continued, "Our best point of entry would be the fastest. The emergency escape stairway will most likely be guarded from the upper levels. Going that way would mean fighting guards with the advantage of gravity. Although it means a direct frontal assault, we have no other choice but to enter through the lobby." Sephiroth checked his materia and rubbed them down with a little ether. "Make sure you have sufficient magic to attack multiple targets."

Everyone did as suggested and checked their materia. In addition to her materia, Marlene checked her riffle's ammunition and setting. After setting the gun to three round bursts, Marlene loaded a new clip. "I'm ready."

Caden looked back over the sector they had just crossed, and hoped Bowden had finished his part of the mission and returned to the Windwalker with Swift. However, his first concern at the moment was the creature hiding in the building before them. "Alright everyone, prepare to break through on my mark. ...Mark!" Caden opened one of the shattered glass doors leading to the lobby and entered quickly taking a fighting position. Sephiroth and Loki followed closely behind, while Marlene guarded their rear position. The four went in expecting a battle, but it was not to be. The lobby was deserted. "What the hell? They did see that fight, right?"

"Did you really want a fight?" Sephiroth asked.

Caden let his guard down, but not completely. "No, but doesn't it seem odd that this area is unprotected?"

"Yeah, it does," Loki said looking around the once proud showcases and displays. The lobby was dimly lit, mostly from natural cloud filtered light. "Hopefully, they were expecting us to go up by the stairs."

"So do I, but still..." Caden trailed off. "Everyone, stay on your guard. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Alright, Swift, that was the last one," Bowden said, mounting the chocobo. "Let's get back to the plane before Caden leaves us here." Swift angrily 'warked' at Bowden's suggestion. "I'm just kidding, Swift. You know he wouldn't leave without us." Swift began to run with Bowden secured to his back. The young chocobo ran much as his name suggests, but remaining in the shadows as much as possible.

They made it only halfway to the Windwalker when they were fired upon from a distance away. Bowden quickly got off Swift and they both took cover. "Shit! Where the hell did those guys come from?" Bowden ducked down to avoid shrapnel from a blast to one of the walls around him. "Good thing I have some C4 left." Bowden took what he had left of the explosive and formed a crude time bomb. Setting the weapon, Bowden threw the explosive in the direction of the gun fire. The bomb detonated, sending three guards flying through the air. Bowden once again climbed onto Swift. "Swift! Let's book!" Swift 'warked' and began to run at full speed. "Good, Swift. Just keep running! We're almost home fre..." Bowden said before being stopped by the sting of a bullet wound. He had been shot in the back. Swift kept running, but yelled out with a loud 'wark'.

Silence permeated the air of the sixty-fifth floor as the elevator's doors opened, revealing Caden and the others. Loki was the first to exit the elevator, impatient to complete his mission. "Sorry, the elevator must not go any further," Loki said, surveying the floor.

Caden searched around as well, growing skeptical of Loki's knowledge. "You aren't telling us everything, are you Loki? You seem to know more then you are letting onto."

"I don't ask you what you know about your intelligence secrets," Loki snapped back. "Besides, you seem to have your own agenda here yourse..." Loki stopped, interrupted by some unseen force. Caden looked around, trying to find what had silenced Loki. Loki glanced over at Caden. "Caden! Look out!" Loki yelled, knocking Caden to the ground. A shot was fired and impacted where Caden's head would have been.

"The hell did that come from?" Caden asked, scrambling for cover.

"I can see him," Marlene yelled, taking to a position she could fire from. "He has a sniper riffle with a laser tracker. I think I can pick him off from here." Marlene aimed her riffle and fired. The bullet ricocheted off a wall. The sniper had moved just in time to avoid being hit. "Shit! Where'd he go?"

"Five meters to the left of his last position," Sephiroth said, still holding his cover.

"I got him," Marlene said, readjusting her riffle. She was quick to aim this time, and fired in time to graze the sniper's shoulder. "Did you see who it was?"

"It's Lenox," Sephiroth said. "Field General Musevni Lenox."

"I'm glad my reputation precedes me," Lenox said from behind a wall. However, like a good sniper, Lenox did not stay in his place for long. He took to a new position and fired on Marlene's position. The shot missed, but did force Marlene to lose track of Lenox. In a new position, Lenox fired again, but with just as little success. "I am impressed though, young lady. You are the first to ever hit me."

Marlene aimed and fired upon where Lenox's voice originated from. However, her shot hit nothing but dry wall. "Shit! I keep losing him. Caden, can I get some light here?"

"Yeah," Caden replied, standing up. "Fire!!" By Caden's command, an area of broken tiles became consumed by an inferno. The bright orange and red glow lit the otherwise barely lit room. Lenox's silhouette stood out amongst the shattered crystals of a large map of Midgar. "Where is he?"

"I think he ran," Loki said, nodding at a distant stairwell. "It was like he was moving in that direction all along. I think he was holding us at bay."

Caden thought about what Loki said, and it made sense. Especially since he could hear the elevators moving now. "Everyone! Move! We have company coming!" Caden lead the charge to the stairwell on the opposite side of the floor. They had made it only half way when the doors of the elevator parted. "Shit! Keep going, I'll hold them off. Wall!" Caden became surrounded by a bright light, but it soon dissipated. From the elevator's chamber, several robotic guards exited and began to pursue Caden. "Bolt!!" Caden's command brought several bolts of lightning down on the guards, shorting most of them out. Taking the opportunity at hand, Caden ran for the stairs.

With Caden now regrouped with the others, they forced the door shut and made sure that it would not open again. "That was too close," Marlene said, wiping sweat from her forehead. Caden nodded, but did not say anything. "Well we better hurry. They'll probably find some way through."

"Agreed," Caden said, pointing up the stairs. "Might as well go up. What's on the next floor?"

"The sixty-sixth floor," Sephiroth said quietly. "The conference room is on that level. Above that are the lab levels and the roof. The top two levels were most likely sheared off by Meteor. The point is, they are no longer there."

Caden's mind began to wander back to the dream he had back in the City of the Ancients. The sight of the creature descending from the building they were now in. The building had a flat roof. The new roof of the building must have been the remnants of the sixty-ninth floor. "Everyone, be ready for what ever is up there," Caden said, trying not to focus on his dream. "Our final fight is somewhere in there."

"Sir, the intruders are on their way in here," Lenox said to a shadowy figure looking out the conference room window. "I lead them up here as you asked. Your son is with them."

The shadowy figure did not move from his view point. "Good, make sure they find their way to the roof. He knows what to do there." The shadowy figure shifted his position and quickly made his way to the stairway with Lenox following behind. "Do not fail me Lenox."

Lenox stopped and shouldered his riffle. "I will not fail you, Sir." The shadowy figure walked up the stairs silently, not even acknowledging Lenox again. Both the shadowy figure and Lenox were out of view by the time Caden and the others finished ascending the stairs to the sixty-sixth floor.

Caden was the first to reach the sixty-sixth floor, followed by Loki and Sephiroth. Marlene held guard at the rear, training her gun to whatever may come after them. "I don't think we are being followed... for now," Marlene said, reaching the crest of the stairs.

"We should still keep our guard up," Caden responded stoically. "They could just be holding back for now." Caden cautiously opened the door that lead from the stairs into the adjoining halls. Peering out, Caden could see no danger, just darkened halls. "Marlene, Damien, stay here and guard our escape. Loki and I will search this floor. If we find the target, we will return here and regroup." They all nodded and split up. Marlene and Sephiroth held back while Loki and Caden walked silently through the shadows.

Loki held back, allowing Caden to take the lead. "It should be in there." Loki pointed at two large oak doors.

Caden nodded and slowly opened the door a crack, just enough to see inside. Inside, Caden could see a large wood table and a huge line of windows on the far wall of the room, but now one was inside. "Looks like your specimen isn't home."

"It may have gone up to the roof," Loki said, turning to return to the stairs. "It's the only other place with any kind of view. It may use it as an escape point."

"How do you know that?" Caden asked cautiously. Loki's tactical knowledge was beginning to sound more like Sephiroth's. Granted, Loki looked much like Caden and Sephiroth, but that did not mean he could have the same logistics as the former general of SOLDIER.

"It makes sense, doesn't it?" Loki asked in response. "It could have a helicopter waiting up their. Not to mention the obvious viewing angles."

Caden did not think long before agreeing with Loki's assumption. "Alright, but we need to be careful. We don't know what it may try." Loki agreed, and followed Caden back to the stairway. They were hasty in their return. When they had rejoined the others, Caden explained the situation. "It's not here, we're going up to the roof. Everyone, stay on your guard."

Marlene stared blankly at Caden. Moving about Caden's face was a small red mark. "Caden! Get down!" Marlene yelled, knocking Caden just in time to avoid a sniper shot. "Lenox's back." Marlene responded to the sneak attack with a volley of fire aimed towards the far end of the hall. "Go! I'll hold him off long enough for you to escape."

"Alright, but fall back when we're up to the next floor," Caden said, guiding Sephiroth and Loki up the stairs. "Once everyone is up there, we're going to block off the exit with ice. It won't hold long, but maybe it will slow them down." Caden reached the next floor quickly. Marlene fired a burst of rounds before fallowing the others up. Once everyone was together again, Caden motioned for the others to step back. Staring at the stairwell, Caden focused his thought on the extreme cold he needed to summon. "Ice!!!" In an instant, the stairwell to the lower levels was blocked off by a wall of thick ice. "Let's get out of here before they cut through."

Caden crested the long stairwell at last, and scanned the wasteland that was the peak of the tower. All around him, the ruins of long destroyed walls lay as well as the remnants of a grand stairway on the opposite side of the expanse. Finally, standing between the feet of the two great stairways was a single figure. It seemed not to move, but it did watch the motley crew assemble before it. Hastily, Loki drew his swords, but slowly approached the figure. Loki had moved several meters away from Caden, but he did not say a word. Caden watched to see what Loki would do, and kept his hand close to his sword. Loki stopped halfway between the figure and Caden, and knelt down. "Father, I have brought you Number XIV as you have requested."

Loki's words drove deep into Caden's mind. With as much speed and control as he could force, Caden took his sword into a fighting position. "Who the hell do you think you are!?" Caden asked in fury to Loki.

"I'm hurt," Loki said, standing up again. "I would have thought you would have figured it out by now," Loki slowly turned around and threw off his cloak. He raised his right arm so that all could see the number XV on his wrist. "Brother." A cold and almost sadistic smile crept across Loki's face.

Images of the destroyed mako condenser in the Mount Nibel Reactor flashed through Caden's mind. The fury that burst from it, and the plaque reading JC015. "No..." Caden faltered a little, stepping back aghast by this reunion of sorts. "...How... Why are you here? Who is that standing over there?"

"So many questions, but then again, it is your nature," Loki said, purposely avoiding the question. "Don't worry, you have plenty of time to have them answered."

"There is no reason to keep him in the dark, Loki," the figure said without moving. "I would not want him to be denied such answers."

The voice struck a chord within Sephiroth, and so was left in shock. It was a voice Sephiroth knew, but it seemed more like a ghost's voice then anything. Marlene could see the shock in Sephiroth's face, despite his best efforts to conceal it. "Sephiroth? Do you know who that is?" Marlene asked Sephiroth.

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed, and he tried to determine the best way to explain it. However, there was only one way to say it. "My father..."

"That's impossible!" Caden said in surprise. "He was killed twenty years ago."

"Defeat does not necessarily mean death, boy," the figure said, stepping into the light. "I assure you, I am Professor Dimitri Hojo." The man before them now stood with the stature of the former head of Shinra's science department. His long black hair and thick glasses also defined him as Gast's successor. However, his clothing more closely resembled that of ancient Wutai. "I am glad you came here. There is no need to fight. Please, put down your arms." No one listened to Hojo's reasoning. "If you wish to fight, Loki will be more then a match for any of you. No doubt you have already seen what power he possesses. It is not too late to surrender. I suggest you do so."

Caden, Marlene and Sephiroth did not comply with Hojo's request at all. Loki laughed to see them resist, as if they had signed their death warrant. "Fine then, I needed the exercise anyway." Loki charged towards Caden with his right sword, but Caden blocked immediately. The attack was a stalemate, but it left Sephiroth with enough time to sneak behind Loki and strike. Unfortunately, Masamune glided through Loki with no resistance. "Fool! Masamune can't harm those with Cetra blood! I'm disappointed in you all. Caden is my twin brother!"

"Damn it!" Caden said, preparing to strike at first chance. "Sephiroth! Stay back and support us with magic. It looks like Masamune is useless right now." Caden charged Loki and struck. Loki blocked with his right sword and tried to slash Caden with his left sword, but Caden was able to jump out of the way just in time.

"Caden, how are you holding up?" Marlene asked, training her gun on Loki. She fired, but Loki dodged all the bullets as if they were stones.

"Yeah, just peachy," Caden said, circling to Loki's side. Unfortunately, this did not reward him any tactical advantage, as Loki turned immediately to counter Caden's strike.

"Cure!!" Sephiroth said. Caden could instantly feel the effects of the magic relieving much of the fatigue and a few of the cuts he had on him.

Caden took this new found energy to strike at Loki again. This time, Caden's blade connected with the left side of Loki's face, causing a gash to form from just above his eye down to near his mouth. Loki looked horrified at Caden. Blood rushed from the wound and down his face, dripping to the floor below. "You bastard! I will get you for..."

"Loki! Enough!" Hojo interrupted. "You cannot fight in your condition. Leave them to me."

"Yes Father," Loki said before leaving the floor.

Caden, still able to fight, slowly approached Hojo with his sword trained on the former scientist. "Alright, where is it? Where is Jenova?"

Hojo stepped forward with his hands behind his back. "Do you mean the creature I found sixty-three years ago?"

"No!" Caden said forcefully. "I want to know where the real Jenova is."

Hojo ignored Caden's clarification. "Let me tell you of the creature. It stood about one point six meters tall, and carried a chisel. Young one as I remember, but then again, I stole his mind."

Caden was confused. "What do you mean?"

Hojo turned to Sephiroth and looked at him straight in the eyes. "I would like to apologize to you Sephiroth. For telling you Jenova was your mother, but it was not all that far from the truth. Jenova is not your mother, Jenova is your father." No one could believe what Hojo said. "The creature I found was the real Dimitri Hojo. I killed him sixty-three years ago and stole his form. The creature the world knew as Jenova was his body." Now that the truth was known, Hojo bent down and allowed for four violet and crimson wings to sprout from his back. His skin paled and became almost blue, and his hair grew just as icy. His fingers grew into claws, and his beard faded. Finally, a long sword in it's scabbard appeared on his back. Once again, he stood tall and took hold of his sword. The sword was as long as Masamune but it held the image of a three headed dragon along it's blade. "Now you see me for who I am. The true Jenova." Jenova fluttered his wings, stretching them out, and began to approach Caden and Sephiroth. "Join with me. It is what I always wanted for you both. To have power over this world and Terra. Together, we can rule over the fools that banished me from our world, and take their lives like they took mine."

Caden stood defiant against Jenova's speech, but was non the less curious. "What the hell do you mean 'our world'?"

Jenova laughed at Caden's query. "I am from the fourth planet in this star system. A planet known as Terra. I was once a warrior who fought in a great war, but I was killed in battle. My enemy took this mangled form and turned me into this living death. The only way I can survive is off the life of others, much as the vampires of ancient lore. Both sides found peace, but only to imprison me and launch me towards the sun. They did not realize this planet had life, nor that it would be in my path. The did not care. All they wanted was my demise." Jenova had almost a sad appearance on his face. "So I spent the last two thousand years waiting for a time when your species would be evolved enough to let me return to Terra satiated of my thirst." Jenova continued to approach Caden. "This planet will die. Join with me and live eternally. This is what you were born for. Come boy. It is the only way for you to survive."

Sephiroth's near always stoic demeanor shattered listening to Jenova speak. The fury and pain that he had felt for so many years at the hand of the alien creature before him began to surface as pure anger. "This world is only in pain because of you! You brought it death, and you still have the nerve to be so cold. You are a monstrosity, not a being that deserves sympathy!" Sephiroth's pain and hatred drove him forward with Masamune, striking at Jenova. Jenova met this attack by strongly raising his sword against Masamune, blocking the attack effortlessly.

"Foolish child. You cannot defeat me with a mere sword," Jenova said tauntingly, pushing Sephiroth back. "Especially not Murasame's twin." The name of the sword struck deep in Caden. While in Wutai, he had long seen swords that carried the name Murasame, but none were as old as the blade Jenova held. "By the look on your faces, I assume you never knew my old rival made two swords. Well, he did not mean to make this one." Jenova stroked the length of the blade from one of the dragon's wing tips to the other. "This world has a tendency to seek balance, so it will never allows itself an advantage. Murasame formed in the stone Ifalanoe trapped me in, to balance out the might of Masamune. You see Sephiroth, your miraculous blade is equally matched."

"You talk too much, Jenova!" Sephiroth said, bringing Masamune to strike Jenova. However, Jenova brought his blade to meet Sephiroth's.

"You never did learn quickly, did you, Sephiroth?" Jenova asked mockingly. Sephiroth did not relent. "Very well then. Make it hard for yourself." Jenova forced Sephiroth back. Sephiroth stumbled and fell back. Even he began to realize the true power of Jenova.

Caden readied himself to attack, but Sephiroth motioned for him to stop while standing up again. "Jenova is too strong. You and Marlene get out of here!"

"No," Caden objected. "I don't know what you were taught in SOLDIER, but we were taught not to leave our people behind!" Sephiroth ignored Caden's objection and continued his attack. Jenova responded to each attack by parrying with ease. Furious swipes were traded with trailing sparks were metals touched. All Caden could do was watch, unable to charge in himself. Despite his best efforts, Sephiroth was over powered in each strike of the blades. Jenova did not break stride, but rather relished in the battle. Sephiroth was beginning to weaken and falter, but did not hold back in his attack. "Sephiroth! Pull back!" Caden yelled, but he was again ignored by Sephiroth. "I'm still in command here! Sephiroth, retreat! That's an order!" Caden was beginning to become frantic. He knew all to well that Sephiroth could not hold out much longer.

"If I stop, we all are doomed," Sephiroth said, still fighting. "Now go!" Sephiroth never flinched, continuing to strike and dodge. Jenova continued as well, effortlessly swinging his blade.

Caden could barely watch, but knew he had to wait for an opening to attack. "Sephiroth, pull back!" Sephiroth ignored him. "Sephiroth!" Caden could only watch as one of Jenova's strikes connected. Sephiroth drew labored breaths, turning to throw Masamune to Caden's feet. "SEPHIROTH!" Sephiroth fell, breathing his last.

"Pathetic," Jenova callously said, forcing Sephiroth's body over the edge of the building. "To think I had such high hopes for him. Now, boy, do you see? Do you really wish to die?"

Caden fell to his knees, nearly breaking into tears. It was as if he had lost all will. "I'm going to be busy raising Aeris… I want you to take…" a strange yet familiar voice spoke to Caden. "The Masamune."

"Take the Masamune," another voice said to Caden. "The Materia glows." Caden looked forward to see the Masamune laying before him, waiting for their destinies to be one. Caden then looked to his own sword, where the White Materia glowed in it's slot. Caden stood again, grasping the legendary sword before him.

Standing tall again, Caden's eyes began to glow. "I wish to live." Caden in one swift move, removed the White Materia from its perch and equipped it on Masamune. The materia reacted to Masamune, giving the whole sword a blue aura. Caden raised the ancient weapon to a striking position. A blue mist began to envelop Caden till only the burning glow of his eyes could be seen. "I will be your angel of death!" Caden brought Masamune to his side, forcing the blue mist behind him. As the mist blew back, it formed into six white wings originating from Caden's back. Standing tall, Caden's eyes burned with a fire Marlene had never seen in him before, unfurling his new wings with great power and grace. Cetrae Angelus was born.

Jenova stood in what seemed like fear. Before him was the legend of a people he slaughtered. Panic stricken, Jenova charged and struck. Caden, without so much as blinking, raised the Masamune to meet Jenova's strike. The two blades meet with a flash of blue light Although it was a simple block, Jenova was forced back several meters. Taking the opportunity, Caden grasped the sword with both his hands and charged with blinding speed towards his downed foe, and struck with such power that it shattered nearby walls. However, Caden had only struck floor tile, as Jenova had rolled to the side at the last minute. Never the less, Jenova seemed weakened by the wake of Caden's attack. Jenova stood again and stared at Caden. "Wha... What have you become!?"

"The Avatar of this world," Caden said, but with many voices acting as one. "Of both Lifestream and the stars. I am what I was destined to be. Your demise!" Caden again took on the offensive, unhindered by his wings. Each movement he made left blue mist in his wake, trailing him with each footstep. Caden struck, but was blocked by Jenova. However, the block left Jenova unsteady and desperate. Searching for some opportunity to escape, Jenova looked straight at Marlene. Jenova moved passed Caden, catching him off guard. Caden tried to strike Jenova, but missed. Marlene raised her weapon and fired, but it did not slow Jenova. The creature took hold of Marlene and began to move towards the edge of the building. "Release her, Creature! Your fight is with me."

"She seems to have taken up your battle," Jenova said, continuing toward the edge.

"Don't I get a say in the matter!?" Marlene said, struggling against Jenova's grasp. Jenova tightened his grasp, and raised Murasame to Marlene's throat.

"You have a simple choice here," Jenova said coldly. "My life, or your friend's." Jenova reached the edge of the building, and looked over the edge. "Choose wisely." Jenova did not so much as waste a breath before throwing Marlene over the edge.

"MARLENE!" Caden yelled, running to the edge of the building. In mid stride, Caden secured Masamune to his back the best he could. Upon reaching the edge of the building, Caden dove off the high rise and tucked his wings behind him. Caden continued his straight arrow like dive until he had reached Marlene. By then, they had already fallen thirty stories. "Marlene! Grab on!" Marlene did so, grappling onto Caden. Caden responded in kind, then spread his wings. The two glided to the ground below. Safely on the ground, Caden's wings reverted to the blue mist, and his blue aura dissipated. "Marlene... are you alright?"

"Yeah... relatively," Marlene said, reeling with the near death experience.

Caden sighed. "I know..." Sadly, their moment of peace was interrupted by the clicks of hundreds of guns being trained on them. Caden and Marlene turned around to find an army of roboguards and motorcycle mounted sentries. "Shit!" Caden removed Masamune and raised it to his ready position. Marlene as well raise her weapon. Luckily, it had remained strapped to her during the fall. One of the sentries got off his motorcycle, and began to walk towards Caden and Marlene. His walk was slow and slightly menacing. His face was expressionless, and almost not human. The sentry continued to march forward until he was within a few meters of Caden, but stopped and fell. There was a bullet hole in his helmet. "What the hell?" The sentries and roboguards shifted their focus over to the left side of the tower with the greatest of haste just in time to watch a cluster of missiles strike them.

From around the corner of the high rise, the Windwalker seemingly glided into position and opened its canopy. "Caden, Mar! Get in!" Bowden yelled from the open cockpit. The aircraft was now low enough that Caden and Marlene could enter. Without a second thought, Caden and Marlene entered into the plane.

"Bow! Go!" Caden ordered, securing himself into one of the back seats.

"What about Sephiroth?" Bowden asked, not yet knowing the truth.

Caden looked down, unable to admit to it himself. "...Sephiroth is dead..." Bowden did not say anything. Caden expected as much, but tried to focus on the issue at hand. "We'll deal with it later. Now let's get out of here!"

"Alright..." Bowden said, guiding the plane up again, but not before firing the last missile cluster. The missiles struck the regrouping army of roboguards below, effectively destroying their unit. "You ready for the real fireworks?"

"Blow the reactors," Caden said stoically. Bowden nodded, and pressed a button on a remote he carried around his neck. All around the ruins of Midgar, the reactors all began to erupt into fiery pillars, illuminating the city in an eerie orange glow. By that time, the Windwalker had risen to the top of the building, where Jenova still watched. His yellow glowing eyes penetrating even the glowing inferno around him. Caden stared straight at the creature knowing that this was only the first time they would meet. The next time would decide the fate of the planet.

"...So now we commit his soul to the planet," Caden said standing before a pile of rocks with a piece of wood that had a name scratched into it. He laid his hand on the pile. "May Damien find his peace in the Promise Land..." Caden removed his hand and looked down on the make shift grave. The name on the wood was Damien Capulet. Although Sephiroth may have never said it, Damian was the name he preferred, and Caden knew that. He still did not understand, but Caden felt as if he knew Sephiroth better now then when he was alive.

"You alright, Caden?" Marlene asked, placing her hand on Caden's shoulder.

Caden placed his hand on Marlene's and took in a breath. "Yeah... just shaken. Bow, how's your shoulder?"

"Really painful," Bowden said, trying not to move his left arm. His arm lay in a sling, and was bandaged at his shoulder. "Now I see why you taught Swift first aid. And to think, I laughed at you." Bowden scratched Swift's head. "I owe him my life." A silence befell the group as grief overcame them. "So what now?" Bowden asked after some time.

Caden looked out over the cliff they all stood on, and watched the fires still burning in Midgar. "Jenova's still alive, but he's afraid now. I saw it in his eyes." Caden turned around to face his friends again, with a sense of fear on his face. "He's going to come after me by any means he can... He may come after you to try and get to me."

Marlene knew where Caden was heading, and began to feel a little angry. "Caden! We're not leaving you!" Caden was taken back by Marlene's out burst. "We've already gone too far together to just leave you to fight that thing alone."

"She's right, Caden. We've been through too much already," Bowden said, backing Marlene. "Besides, we'll be a hell of a lot safer if we all stick together."

"Well, I guess I'm stuck with you guys," Caden said sarcastically. "Mar, Bow, thanks. Now let's get back to Junon. We have someone to visit." Caden lead the others back to the Windwalker in silence.

Author's notes: I would like to apologize to my loyal readers. It has been too long since I began this chapter. Last semester of school was very difficult for me, as I watched my mother die. Ironically, I was up to the point where Sephiroth is killed when my mother did pass. I am not dedicating this chapter in the memory of my mother, however. I will be writing a short story in her honor based on Final Fantasy X, though. Again thank you all. -Aquila


	13. Ancestry

Note: I do not own the rights to Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy VII, any of the original characters, places, or situations of the said games. These are properties of Square Enix, a really great company. Now, I really should have put this disclaimer up a while ago.****

**Chapter 12: Ancestry**

Caden was quiet when he entered the locker room after his debriefing, but he was visibly very angry and riddled with guilt. He did not acknowledge Marlene or Bowden, but merely walked up to a concrete wall and punched it, leaving a slight impression. Caden leaned against the wall and did not say a word. Marlene walked up to Caden and put her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it's going to be alright."

"I let him die..." Caden said softly and almost inaudibly.

"What?" Marlene asked, not knowing what Caden had murmured.

Caden sharply turned around, catching Marlene off guard. "I let Sephiroth die!" Marlene backed away, more upset then frightened. Caden stopped and all but broke into tear. "It was my fault. I could have done something other then stare blankly. I could have fought beside him."

"And be killed too!?" Marlene asked abruptly with pain. "Jenova was too powerful. You wouldn't have stood a chance."

"I could have cast Holy..." Caden responded, trying hard to hold back a flood of tears. "I failed him... and all of you... It was a trap... I lead you all into a trap."

"What!?" Marlene and Bowden asked together.

"Cid just told me," Caden continued. "The anti-aircraft rounds were blanks. He didn't think any of us were coming out alive... Loki, Lenex, Hel, they were all sent to guide us to Jenova..."

"Caden, it's not like you could have done anything," Bowden said walking up to Caden. "Face it, we really didn't know what was in there. You didn't lead us into a trap, we followed you into a blind spot."

"Yeah, cause that sounds so much better," Caden said sharply, but immediately realized what he did. "I'm sorry... I don't even know what's wrong with me anymore."

"Don't worry about it," Marlene said reassuringly. "We're here for you. Always remember that."

A tear began to run down Caden's cheek. "Thanks guys." In a never before seen gesture by him, Caden hugged both Marlene and Bowden at once. "So, you guys ready to go?"

Bowden shrugged. "Yeah, but how are we getting to Wutai?"

Caden began to open his mouth to respond, but Cid walked into the locker room. "On the Highwind." Marlene and Bowden turned around to face the admiral. "I just got off the phone with the Prime Minister. The Highwind is detailed to Caden until the threat from Jenova is neutralized. Shit kid, my worst nightmare's coming true. Try not to fuck her up like the last time." Cid was only kidding, and his smile gave that away.

"I won't," Caden said, raising his hand as if he were taking an oath.

Cid laughed at the sight. "Alright, one more thing. Yuf... Kami Kisaragi has personally asked that you see her."

Caden was a little confused by Cid's message. It was rare that Yuffie ever summoned anyone to see her. Caden tried to shake the thought though, because he had another issue to deal with. "I will, but first we need to make a visit to the Southern Province." Caden was once again melancholic. "Shall we go?"

Several hours had passed since Caden and the others had left Junon on the Highwind. It had mostly been a quiet flight, but Caden still had his dreaded task on his mind. "Lot on your mind?" a familiar woman's voice said. Caden looked around him, and turned to see the crew members turning white, and screaming about a ghost. Caden finally turned around enough to see what they were screaming at. "You would think they've never seen a ghost before."

"Aeris," Caden said in exasperation.

"What?" Aeris asked cheerfully. "I always wanted to fly on the Highwind."

"What are you doing here?" Caden asked, unable to understand Aeris' sudden appearance. "I thought you had to stay in Icicle."

"The Planet sent me to protect the White Materia and wait for Cetrae Angelus," Aeris explained. "How am I supposed to do that while you and the materia are jetting around the planet?"

Caden leaned against the railing at the bow of the airship. "Granted, but I know there's another reason."

Aeris sighed the best a spirit could. "Sephiroth has already made it to the Lifestream."

Caden stared out across the bridge. "That's at least some comfort." Caden turned around and looked out the bow windows at a distant land mass. "Looks like we're coming up on Wutai. Time to do this..."

"Be strong," Aeris said as reassuringly as possible.

Caden turned around again. "Thanks... but I don't think I'm strong enough for this. At least not in the way I need to." Caden began to walk away from the bow of the bridge.

Aeris watched Caden walk away. "You know you really can't walk anywhere I can't find you."

"Then please," Caden said calmly and sadly. "Don't follow me. I need some time alone." Caden continued to walk away, but Aeris did not follow.

"You are strong though," Aeris said, even if no one heard her. However, there were still crew on the deck too frightened to move. Aeris stared at them in almost disgust. "Geez! You would think people would be happy to see there is something after death." Aeris disappeared in a huff, much to the relief of the crew. Aeris, however, was not ready to let them off the hook so easily. "Boo!" Aeris shouted, partially materializing in a bulkhead then disappearing again. Much of the crew on the bridge became paralyzed with fear again.

Caden breathed in deeply, approaching the door before him. It was a task he dreaded doing, but he owed at least this to Sephiroth. It was hardest things he had or ever have to do. Caden knocked on the door, trying to maintain his composure. However, it was hard to hide his pain. Caden wore it plainly his face, not noticing it until Lucrecia and Vincent opened the door. It was enough to tell her that Sephiroth was no more. "No..." Lucrecia said, stepping back into Vincent's arms and wept. Vincent tried his best to comfort her, but it was of no use.

"I'm sorry..." Caden said solemnly, unable to say anything else. "He died trying to save us." Caden stood erect and presented Masamune, wrapped in cloth, to Lucrecia. Even in his formality, Caden had to fight tears of his own.

Tearfully, Lucrecia turned from Vincent and rejected the wrapped sword. "I was there when he tried to give it to you, remember? I know Sephiroth would be proud if you carry Masamune." Lucrecia wiped away her tears and motioned for Caden and the others to enter. Caden entered solemnly, followed by Marlene and Bowden. Vincent shut the door behind them, but remained silent.

Lucrecia motioned for her companions to sit, and they did so. Caden looked down, still unable to fully comprehend the situation and how to respond to it. "He knew the full potential of Jenova, and tried to shield us from it. We would never have gotten as far as we did without him. ...Jenova is weaker now and afraid."

"...Jenova..." Lucrecia said under her breath. "It was him wasn't it? He was Hojo.

Caden was surprised by Lucrecia's questioning. Somehow, Lucrecia had known what they had known only for a short time. "H-how did you know?"

Lucrecia sighed, knowing that she was now obligated to speak up. "I've known for almost sixty years..."

"What!?" Caden asked in great surprise. "Why didn't you tell us!?"

"Caden, calm down," Marlene said, trying keep Caden from doing anything drastic. "She probably has her reasons."

Lucrecia sighed again, now forced to admit her reason, no matter how painful it would be. "It's hard to admit that the man you loved once, had a child with, was a monster." Lucrecia tried to hold back tears, but with little success. "He knew I was aware of his true face, and retaliated be taking Sephiroth from me." Lucrecia's face hardened and her fists clenched. "That monster took everything from me. My life, my child, my hope. No more!" Lucrecia stood up again. "Caden, you're going after it again, right? You're going after Jenova?"

"...Lucrecia," Vincent said approaching Lucrecia. She said nothing, but put her hand up to stop Vincent. Lucrecia wanted Caden to answer her.

"Yes, eventually," Caden said, confused by Lucrecia's sudden change in attitude.

Lucrecia walked over to a window and looked out. A flock of chocobos walked by while Swift socialized with them. "I want to go with you," Lucrecia said bluntly.

Caden was surprised by Lucrecia's candor. "I can't let you," Caden said, shaking his head. "You're..."

"Too old?" Lucrecia interrupted, not moving from the window sill. "I'm not some decrypted old woman." Lucrecia raised her arm, which was now tinted slightly blue with long claw like nails. "I'm more like him then any other Jenovan, able to shape shift in a limited way and fly." Lucrecia let her arm return to normal. "I'm still working on the mind control thing." Lucrecia wryly smiled, but her attempt at humor passed through the others.

"I was going to say that you weren't thinking straight," Caden said. "But I doubt that would change your mind. Welcome aboard."

"Before we leave, I need to get something for you," Lucrecia said calmly, then turned to leave the room. Caden wondered what Lucrecia was retrieving, but did not bother to ask. Lucrecia promptly returned, carrying a long saya. "I assume you will need this for Masamune."

Caden took the saya and removed the cloth from Masamune. Respectfully, he slid the blade into the black lacquered scabbard and secured it to his back underneath his old sword. "Thank you. I will make sure that it's honor is kept." Caden turned around and looked outside, contemplating their next move. "We'll have to get going soon. We're expected in Wutai."

"Caden!" Cid yelled from across the Highwind's engine room. "The fuck are you dragging more people onto my ship for!?"

"Yeah, nice to see you too," Vincent said sarcastically, walking past his old friend and ally. "It's not like you don't know us."

"Damn it! You know how protective I am of her," Cid said, trying to defend his position. "I can't just pack everyone on the planet in her!"

"Oh calm down Cid," Aeris said, popping through a bulkhead. Cid turned to face her, then proceeded to turn white. Apparently he had no idea Aeris was on the Highwind. "It's not like there's an army on board." Aeris noticed Cid's sudden fear of ghosts and stared into his eyes. "Geez, you knew I was around, and that I've always wanted to fly on the Highwind. So why are you so surprised, Cid? Cid? You even in there? Hello?"

"CID!" Caden shouted while snapping his fingers, in an attempt to break Cid from his fear induced stupor. "Cid, snap out of it! Aeris is supposed to watch over the White Materia until Jenova is destroyed. That's why she's here."

Cid began to shake the fear from himself and regained his normal composure. "What the fuck, Aeris!? Are you trying to give me a heart attack!?"

"Ok everyone, he's fine," Caden said, jokingly announcing to the crew.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Cid responded, slightly annoyed. "Now are we going to Wutai or not?" Caden looked over the bow of the ship, but did not respond immediately. "Well?"

"We can't keep Kami Kisaragi waiting now can we?" Caden said without turning around. "Lets go."

Caden entered through the door of the Five Storied Pagoda and tried to proceed towards the stairs with Marlene, Bowden, and Lucrecia not far behind him. "Stop!" the voice of an old man said from next to the stairs. "You know our ways, Caden."

Caden did not turn to face the man. "I know Kami Gorky, but Kami Kisaragi personally summoned me here."

Gorky stood up from his seating mat and approached Caden. "Then I shall inform Kami Kisaragi of your arrival."

"That won't be necessary, Gorky," Yuffie said, descending the stairs. "I am aware of his arrival." Yuffie turned to Caden and smiled. "You have your father's timing."

"So why did you call me here?" Caden asked, getting straight to the point.

Yuffie did not say a word, but walked past Caden. "Just follow me. I will explain when we get there." Caden was still curious, but did as he was told. Marlene, Bowden, and Lucrecia tried to follow as well, but Yuffie turned and stopped them. "This is something Caden must do on his own."

"I apologize, Kami," Marlene said, bowing slightly. "We aren't used to letting our people go into the unknown alone."

"I know," Yuffie said with a gentle smile. "That's why you and Caden were even considered for the Shinobi no Kami program." Yuffie turned around again and lead Caden away.

The two walked in silence until they had reached a residence not far from the Five Storied Pagoda. Caden was still curious as to why he was summoned to Wutai and wished to know more. "I still don't understand why I'm here," Caden reiterated.

"Someone needs to test you," Yuffie said, sliding open the panel door to the residence and entered.

"Who?" Caden asked, entering the residence.

"You will find out soon enough," Yuffie responded stoically. "Just know that he has been watching you from the very beginning." Yuffie continued to lead Caden past a koi garden and through the halls. Eventually, they came to a large room with a brass idol. "Now, Caden, you must fight me."

"WHAT!?" Caden asked in complete surprise. "Why do I have to fight you?"

"Because," Yuffie said, flinging off her kimono, revealing the ancient armor she wore beneath. "Even I take orders from someone."

Caden unsheathed Masamune and held it ready. "No... How long have you been taking orders from Jenova!?" Caden spoke spoke with fire in his words and eyes.

"I'm not taking orders from Jenova," Yuffie said, unsheathing her dagger. "But _he_ need to know if you are truly ready to face the 'Crisis from the Skies'." Yuffie pressed a button on the dagger and spun it around. At every ninety degrees, a seemingly new dagger appeared and locked into position. It was now a large shuriken. "He wants to see your skill with the Masamune, so neither of us may use materia. Agreed?"

Caden stood ready for what ever was about to happen. "Agreed."

"One last thing," Yuffie said, preparing for an attack. "Come at me as if you were going to kill me, because I will be doing the same!" Yuffie threw her shuriken, but Caden able to deflect the incoming attack. Unfazed, the throwing star promptly returned to its owner. Knowing full well that Yuffie would continue to attack at her full capacity, Caden charged in an attack of his own. Caden swung the gigantic Masamune towards the young Kami, but she jumped out of the way in time. Caden recovered his attack in time to defend against Yuffie's next throw. The shuriken struck the floor boards and shredded them. Even though the weapon struck the floor, it still returned to as it had before. Caden responded by attacking and missing again.

Caden raised up Masamune back to a ready position and circled Yuffie. "Looks like we're at a stalemate." Caden charged again, but Yuffie was able to catch Masamune on her shuriken and force it to the floor.

Yuffie took advantage of Caden's temporary disadvantage and kicked him to the ground. "I wouldn't say that. It seems I have the upper hand." Yuffie threw the shuriken hard at Caden. However, Caden was able to roll out of the way in time. Dodging another attack, Caden picked up Masamune and sheathed it without delay. "What're you doing!?" Yuffie asked impatiently.

"Evening the odds," Caden said assuredly. Caden ran towards Yuffie, and in one fluid motion, swung his arms down, his legs up, and struck Yuffie in a spectacular attack. Not wasting any time, Caden sweep kicked Yuffie to the ground.

Caden tried to strike with his fist, but Yuffie rolled out of the way just before Caden's fist shattered the floor plank once beneath her. "Impressive. _He_ didn't think you were ready."

"Who didn't think I was ready!?" Caden asked impatiently, unsheathing Masamune. "Who's lap dog are you!?"

"Do you really want to know?" Yuffie asked calmly, almost tauntingly. She began to focus, allowing the pendent around her neck to glow bright green. Soon a green mist began to surround Yuffie, and glyphs surrounded her. "Then you must meet him! Leviathan!"

Caden looked down at his own pendent, which was glowing as well. "What happened to no materia!?"

"If you need a reason, then use this," Yuffie said, backing away into the shadows of the corridor. "Never trust a ninja!" The mist that once surrounded Yuffie formed a hole in reality from which the sound of a raging sea could be heard. On the other side, Caden knew the guardian of Wutai was preparing to burst through.

Caden stepped back, continuing to watch the progression of the summoning. Soon enough, the portal became a sphere of water and burst in a spray of sea. In the place of the sphere was Leviathan staring down at Caden. "Please, Leviathan, don't make me do this," Caden said, pleading with the ancient serpent.

_I'm truly sorry, Child, but I must be sure,_ Leviathan said through Caden's thoughts. "Now, Caden. Show me that you can fight Jenova!" Leviathan charged head first towards Caden. However, Caden was able to jump out of the way. Leviathan immediately turned around and unleashed a stream of water from his mouth. Caden continued to dodge and evade the attacks, moving gradually towards Leviathan. "What are you doing? Why aren't you attacking?" Leviathan swung his gigantic tail around, narrowly missing Caden head, but smashing one of the fragile walls. "Fight me!"

"Who said I wasn't going to," Caden said, unleashing an attack below Leviathan's eyesight. Caden was able to strike and fall back before Leviathan could react. It did not stop the giant serpent, but the attack did slow him. Leviathan responded by knocking Caden away with a clean strike to the chest head. Caden was quick to rise to his feet again, but not before Leviathan began to summon forth a wall of water. "Oh shit!" Caden exclaimed, but tried not to panic. However, he knew the power that was in Leviathan's attack. When the wall reached him, Leviathan stretched out and rode the wave. Caden knew his only chance would be to dive into the wave, but the decision Leviathan made would make things difficult. The wall neared Caden before he could think of a different plan of attack, and so he dove into the incoming wave. While under the water, Caden slashed at the underbelly of Leviathan, causing the serpent to cry out in pain. The water dissipated leaving Caden unhurt, but wet.

Leviathan turned around, exhausted from the fight. "You are ready." Caden lowered Masamune and looked at it. The blade reacted in such a way that made the steel look liquid. "Ah! So the Masamune remembers me. I'm surprised it still recognizes me after all these years." Caden was confused, but had his suspicions. Leviathan saw Caden's uneasiness, and turned to Yuffie. "Yuffie, could you leave us be for a moment."

"Yes, Leviathan," Yuffie said, bowing in respect and departing.

Leviathan waited for Yuffie to be out of hearing range before saying another word. "Caden, what I say here will be hard to take in, but you need to know."

Caden smiled wryly, and even laughed a little. He knew where this line of conversation was going. "If it's that you are the soul of one of my ancestors, I already know. Aeris told me all about it." Caden grew serious again, focusing on the heart of the matter. "The question is, who are your really?"

Leviathan was silent for a moment, trying to contemplate how to approach Caden's question. "Look at Masamune. You can see the image of a serpent." Caden did so, noticing the striking resemblance between the serpent and Leviathan. "That image is a scar from when it was rebuilt with the metal from Jenova's prison."

Caden was still not satisfied by Leviathan's answer, but never the less perplexed by Leviathan's approach to the question. "How do you know that?" Leviathan did not answer, but instead became surrounded by a bright light. The light became so bright that Caden could not see. "No! Wait!" Caden yelled frantically. "I need to know!"

The light passed leaving a strong, but ghostly looking elderly man. His hair was long and mostly white, as well as tied back. His clothes were simple and what would have been what the Cetra wore in ancient times. His face strangely reminded Caden of Aeris, but with a beard and worn eyes. "You asked how I knew so much about Masamune?" the man asked cryptically. "Well I know so much about it because I was the one who forged it."

"Ifalanoe..." Caden said, stepping back in surprise.

Ifalanoe nodded not moving any further. "Although I haven't been called that in several centuries." He looked at Caden's surprise. "Come now, I know you have seen ghosts before. What about the guardian of the White Materia?" Caden did not respond to Ifalanoe's question. "Actually, I am quite surprised that she did not mention that Leviathan and I are one."

Caden relaxed considerably, and proceeded to sheath Masamune. "But why? Why are you Leviathan? Why are you the guardian of Wutai?"

Ifalanoe turned around, and thought for a moment before turning to face Caden again. "I became bound to Leviathan so that I could continue my vigil against Jenova in a limited way. I chose to become the materia so that the true warriors of this planet could have an ally in me. I chose to protect Wutai because it was the land that I made my pilgrimages through. Though back then, the continent was further north then today. Back when it too was part of the Knowlspole."

"Oh," Caden said in his usual blunt way. "But..."

"Why did I want to test you?" Ifalanoe interrupted. "When I rebuilt the Masamune, I gave it to the captain of the Templar, Dalnae. The sword made him ill, but did not harm either myself or Cyone."

"Dalnae, Cyone?" Caden asked confused by the two new names.

"Yes, Dalnae was the captain of the Templar, and Cyone was my son," Ifalanoe said calmly. "I believe Cyone is bound to the dragon Bahamut. Anyway, we'll have to save the genealogy lesson for later. Back to what's important." Ifalanoe composed himself and began to speak again. "As I was saying, Dalnae could not hold the sword, but myself and my descendants could wield the blade with ease. It was decided then that the Masamune, and the newly created White Materia be held in our line."

"What do you mean newly created?" Caden asked, unaware of the materia's origins.

"I was the last of the grand mages left after Jenova's rampage," Ifalanoe said. "The souls of my comrades became twisted and contaminated from Jenova's toxin. There was no way for them to return to the Lifestream. Gaia decided that their Spirit Energy must be used to protect the planet." Ifalanoe walked up to Caden and put out his hand. In his palm appeared an image of the White Materia. "I used the machine Jenova carried, not much different from the accursed Mako Reactors, to create the White Materia. Sadly though, a dark materia was formed as well." Ifalanoe opened up his other hand, making the image of much darker, far larger orb. "The Black Materia was formed from the dark influence of Jenova. While one contains the purest essence of the planet, the other can destroy it. If the two were to ever come into contact." Ifalanoe brought his hands together, forcing the orbs together. A bright flash took their place. When the light subsided, the orbs were gone. "The would destroy each other." Ifalanoe backed off and began to ponder. "We got too far off topic."

"Yeah," Caden said wholeheartedly. "So why did you test me?"

"I'll try not to stray this time," Ifalanoe concluded. "As I was saying, only myself and my line could wield the Masamune. I knew that one day, a descendant of mine would have to wield the sword and materia against Jenova. Back in my time, Jenova became fascinated with my resilience against his pestilence. It was believed that he would try to combine his blood with our's"

"But why?" Caden asked, interested in the reasoning for his creation.

"Because, you can feel the planet," Ifalanoe said. "If you were to become like Jenova, you would be able to take life from the planet directly. Jenova is dependent on Mako, and wanted a descendent that would not controlled by the availability of reactors."

Caden was a little concerned by this news. "So how can you trust me?"

"Because there is no other option," Ifalanoe said. "Besides, your path is not one way. You have the choice to follow a light or dark path. You have chosen. You have proven yourself strong against Jenova's temptations. Even when you thought it was him in the stable."

Caden looked at Ifalanoe in surprise. "...Atavus?" Ifalanoe nodded. "But how did you...?"

"Become corporeal?" Ifalanoe interrupted.

"You really have to stop doing that," Caden said half jokingly. "It's starting to creep me out."

"I apologize," Ifalanoe said. "It's kinda hard not to read your mind. We are connected as long as the materia glows." Ifalanoe pointed at Caden's pendent. "Anyway, back to the topic, I can form myself into beings other then Leviathan. Just not as powerful."

"So you weren't kidding when you said you were 'Atavus'," Caden said laughing slightly. He soon became stoic again, concerned with what he must do. "So what now?"

"Jenova will make his move soon," Ifalanoe said, sighing silently. "The other has found a way to track the Promise Land."

"So, that's why Loki's there... That's why he wanted me." Caden said, somewhat disheartened by this revelation. "But what do you mean 'track'? Is the Promised Land mobile?"

"It has to be," Ifalanoe said with a serious face. "When Jenova first appeared, Gaia warned us to stay away from the Knowlspole, the land that was once the stationary position of the Promised Land. We refused to run from it, but Gaia did so herself. Our wandering pilgrimage is the same as hers. It was the only way to protect the Promised Land." Ifalanoe looked at Caden and saw the confusion that grew on his face. "You never heard the name Gaia before, have you?" Caden shook his head, and Ifalanoe understood why. "That's right. You have always just referred to Gaia as the Planet." Ifalanoe stopped and began to focus again. He was just avoiding the subject at hand. "Caden, your power has just awoken and is still unfocused. Before you can face Jenova again, you must be able harness the full potential of the White Materia. There just isn't enough time to do so properly."

Caden sighed, knowing what it would entail. "I understand."

"Just know that I will be there if and when you need me," Ifalanoe said before fading away.

Caden looked down at his pendent and watched the glow fade as well. "I know"

"Hey, Caden! You back yet!?" Marlene yelled out from the entrance to the Highwind.

"Marlene, could you not yell so loud?" Bowden said, holding his head in his one good hand. "My headache's getting worse."

"Well, you should know better then to try and drink me under the table," Marlene responded, laughing. "Drink some water and take an aspirin. You'll be fine." Marlene sighed, walking down the stairs. "Caden, where the hell are you? I just made Bowden regret learning beer pong again."

Lucrecia walked out of the stables and hastily approached Marlene and Bowden. "I have some bad news, and I don't know how to tell you... Just read this." Lucrecia handed a sheet of paper to Marlene.

Marlene looked over the paper, and dropped it, looking up in horror. "Caden left."

"Come on Swift," Caden said from atop his chocobo. "Let's get going." Swift 'warked' in response. Caden looked one last time at the Highwind before he and Swift turned around, making their way across the cliffs.


End file.
